


the warmth in your skin is pulling me in

by thejunglekook



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Boys In Love, Hand Jobs, Kinda, M/M, Making Out, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Content, Shower Sex, alien!luke, based a lot on stranger things, because that's an amazing show, human!michael, like a lot, not sure what to tag this, this has a lot a violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-09-01 16:22:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8630854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejunglekook/pseuds/thejunglekook
Summary: walking home from work one night, michael clifford notices a strange light shining over his apartment. he shrugged it off, and pretended it was nothing, though he definitely wasn't expecting a tall, blonde, blue-skinned person standing in the middle of his living room!orluke is an alien sent to earth from his home planet, michael is trying to figure everything out, and they work perfectly together.





	1. the day the earth stopped moving

Michael isn't one to believe in the extraterrestrial. He doesn't necessarily hate the thought of people from different planets, but the thought of someone living somewhere other than Earth just seemed fake. Well, it did seem fake, until he noticed a bright blue light flashing over his apartment building. He was going to shrug the whole the off--claiming to himself it was only 'a billboard-malfunction'--and continued to walked over to his apartment, forgetting about the strange feelings that was beginning to set in the pit of his stomach.

Michael makes it to his apartment in a little less than ten minutes. The blue light has now vanished, which left him a bit confused, but he decided not to overthink it because it was probably nothing. He took his keys out of his pocket, still urging himself to ignore unusual feelings that's causing his heart to pound, and focus on getting inside and underneath his warm blankets before his roommates--Ashton and Calum--get home from their jobs and classes.

He unlocks his door, stepping into the dark apartment and shutting the door behind him. His keys are placed on the kitchen counter, as Michael takes out his phone whilst simultaneously turning on the light switch. He scrolls through his Instagram profile, liking pictures here and there, until he hears the small pitter-patter of footsteps across the apartment's hardwood floors. Trying not to get freak out, Michael gulps quietly, and looks up right as a boy comes out of the hallway.

Michael let out a small scream, which startled the boy. "Who the hell are you, and why are you in my fucking house!" he exclaims, watching as the boy flinches at the loud tone of voice, slowly coming out from the dark hallway and standing in the light. Something about him just seemed...off. He looked normal--well, he looked really, really nice, but that isn't something unusual. But, he was giving off a weird vibe, and Michael didn't like it.

The boy seemed to be completely and utterly flabbergasted by the sight of Michael Clifford. He continuously stared at him for minutes after what Michael asked, like he couldn't believe he was actually there. Then, he began to walk closer, which let Michael have a much better view of him; he was quite tall, had blonde hair, but the strange thing, his skin didn't exactly look...fleshy? Michael wondered if he could have been seeing things right, because it almost looked as if his skin was blue, which wouldn't be possible.

The boy, or whatever he could be clarified as, continued walking up to Michael, causing the bright-red-headed male to take a step back each time. He walked away from him until his back was pressed against the wall, and the boyish-thing (Michael hasn't decided what it is yet) took this to his advantage, and walked so close to Michael that he could feel his breath on his face. Michael wondered what he was going to do, what was going to happen to him, but he certainly didn't expect this.

The boy poked him.

The boy poked his cheek, almost like he was trying to be sure that Michael was real, whilst Michael wanted to do the same for him; it isn't considered normal to break into someone's house, and poke them in the fucking  _face_! How did he even get inside, for that matter? The door was still locked when Michael got there, and it seemed like none of the windows were broken or anything. Did he just appear in here? Did someone just say fucking  _'poof'_  and here he was? Michael had no logical answers to any of his questions, and it was really starting to freak him out.

The person continued poking his cheeks, chin, neck, forehead, until it escalated even more than the innocent poking; he began to mess with Michael's nose. He would mash it shut, or make a pig nose with it, and did little silly things that would bring a small laugh out of his throat, leaving Michael even more confused than he was moments before. He wanted to push this boy off of him and tell him to get out, but he almost felt compelled to let him finish. He didn't seem like he was doing much harm, so why not?

Then, it seem the found the one last place on Michael face that wasn't messed with, when his cold fingers started touching on Michael lips. His fingers slowly ran across his bottom lip, as he seemed almost mesmerized by their pretty pink color, unlike his own pale bluey-green. Being so up-close and personal with whomever this person is has given Michael a chance to actually take in all of his features; his skin was light blue, with dark blue spots (freckles, if he was guessing?) dotted all over his nose, and his lips were pastel aqua, with ears that came to a small point. This was probably the moment Michael realized this boy, this  _creature_ , wasn't an actual person after all.

That's when the creature places his lips onto Michael, kissing the other sweetly. Michael's eyes widened, his eyebrows furrowing as he wondered what the actual fuck was going on. Part of him expect Ashton and Calum to jump out from somewhere hidden, one of the holding their phone and recording this for a prank and they both laughed. But, that wasn't going to happen, and right now Michael has some strange human-like creature inside of his house, and kissing him on the lips. Well, it has very soft lips, which Michael did take a mental note off; who knows, he might need to remember this in the future...

It pulled off Michael after a good twenty seconds, a smile now brightly on it's face as it whispers out a single word:  _"Human."_

"Um...yes?" Michael says, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to get away from the being. Something really strange was going on here, and Michael wasn't sure how to react to it. Shit, what is he going to do when Ashton and Calum get here? Is he going to let whatever this thing is experiment all over them, too? Let it  _kiss_ them? Maybe, he should hide it; he is off work tomorrow, and since the other two roommates won't be home until late anyway, it seemed that would probably be his best bet.

Michael tried to be more friendly to the creature than he first was, and tried to let it know that he wouldn't harm it, unless it tried to hurt him first. "Do you have a name? Or, like, is there something your--uh-- _beings_  call you?" he tried to put it so the thing could understand, but judging by the very confused look he was being given, it shows that no, it did no understand what Michael was meaning.

But then, it seemed like Michael was getting somewhere, because it drew up the sleeve of whatever it was wearing, and showed something that was tattooed onto it's wrist.  _LURTXLYN_ was tatted onto him, and Michael looked down at it confusedly, knowing that word was not something meant for the English pronunciation. He looked back up to the blonde, studying his face for a few moments as it smiled happily, like it knew he was helping out in someway.

"Okay, whatever the shit you have on your wrist can't be actual English, and I don't think that's even classified as a name anyway." Michael says, letting go of the boys wrist and watching as he tugged the sleeve of his metallic-silver shirt back down. "You know what," he continues, "I'm going to call you Luke. Luke...um, we can probably just come up with a last name later. Well, Luke, I'm Michael."

The thing pointed to himself, the smile never leaving his place, "Luke," he says, tapping on his chest, "Me...Luke?" he asks, to which Michael nodded his head, a small smile on his face. Luke walked over to him one again, this time placing one of his hands on Michael chest, looking up with his bright blue eyes and saying, "You...Michael?"

Michael gulped, swallowing back any attraction before saying, "Yes, you are Luke, and I am Michael. Now, Luke where exactly are you from? It's obviously not somewhere around here...New York?" Michael tried to joke, but realized he had probably no idea what that was, and by the confused look, he didn't. So Michael says, "Sorry, that was supposed to be a joke. But, where is your home?"

 _"Stars,"_  Luke replies, motioning up with his hand. Michael nodded slowly, thinking to himself about how he will never be able to explain this to Ashton and Calum, or anyone, for that matter. No one will be able to understand what's happening right now, god, even he doesn't understand what's happening right now! Michael has an alien standing in his living room, which he is guessing is what caused the weird-ass blue light.

"Okay, I have an alien standing in my living room, this can't get any weirder, right?" Michael muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair and down across his face. He looked back up at Luke, whom was standing their confusedly as he watched what Michael doing. Michael just groaned, letting himself sit down on the couch and place his head inside his hands, trying to think of what he is supposed to do. God, what can he do in this situation? He was never taught what to do when an alien appears, and he's pretty sure Google wouldn't help, either.

He uncovered his face, expecting for Luke to still be standing and watching his every move, but now he was gone. Confused, Michael stands up from his seat, as he begins to hear a rustling from the kitchen. Another groan escapes his lips, as he hurried into the room before Luke could do any destruction...or eat all their food. He caught him opening up the freezer door, reaching inside to take something out, but quickly retreating his hand and rubbing it to create warmth again. He looks at Michael, and says, "Cold."

Michael laughed, shaking his head lightly before shutting the freezer and leading him out of the room. He didn't mean to laugh, because he knows Luke must not know any better, but it's still kind of funny. He's like a little kind, almost; it's like he's learning about everything and medaling in thing just like young kids, which is kind of cute, almost. But, what isn't cute to Michael, is that Luke probably has no place to go, and he isn't sure where the alien will stay, unless he goes back to _'the stars.'_

Michael was about to say something, until his phone alerts him. He pulls it out of his pocket, seeing it was a text from Ashton; he was getting off work early, and Calum's last class was canceled, so they would be home in about ten minutes.  Michael curses out loud, throwing his phone down gently on the couch and pacing slightly. The one day when something so crazy happens to him, Calum and Ashton get home early, which leaves him ten minutes to decided what to do with Luke.

Speaking of Luke, the boy was fascinated by the glowing-object Michael was holding, and when he threw it on the couch, Luke went over and picked it up, thoroughly examining the thing whilst Michael payed no attention. It had a bright screen, and there was little buttons with colorful pictures all over. Curiously, he clicked on a yellow one, and the screen turned into something that resembled a mirror. It was only SnapChat, but Luke had no idea what that was, so he was confused when seeing himself.

"Luke..on screen?" he asks, looking over to Michael with his eyebrows furrowed. Michael's pacing halted, as he glanced at the boy, whom was tapping away on his phone. He snatched the phone out of the other's hands, causing the boy to pout slightly. Michael sighed, running his hand through his messy hair, muttering things under his breath that made little sense.

He motioned for Luke to get up, and leads him off of the couch and down the hallways, opening the door to his room. Michael a little bit better, knowing Luke was safer inside of his room, and there was less of a chance of him getting caught. The boy was just standing in the doorway, unsure of whether he should walk inside or have Michael tell him what he needs to do. So, he continued to watch Michael, rocking himself back and forth on the balls on his feet while he waited for further instructions. 

Luke was humming to himself, and it came is a small distraction as Michael tried to concentrate on what he needed to do. He looked to Luke, rolling his eyes when seeing the boy was still standing outside the door. He clears his throat, before speaking, "You can come inside, you know. Just--fuck, just sit on the bed for a second, okay?" he asks, hoping to god Luke actually knows what a bed is. 

Thankfully, Luke does know what a bed is, and happily acknowledged what Michael was saying. He walked to the bed, and sat down on the edge while Michael continued to think about what would happen if Luke is caught. Would Calum and Ashton even care? They would probably be cool with it, if Michael had to guess. Probably. There's always a chance they might overreact, and throw Luke out for him to fend for himself, but that seems quite unlikely for Calum and Ashton.

"Okay, my room is fucking tiny, and you're basically seven-feet-tall, so there really isn't anywhere for you to hide. I guess it's a good thing Ash and Calum won't be home for another five-" Michael cuts himself off at the sound of the door lock clicking, and the front door beginning to open. He hears the two boys talking, and curses underneath his breath, "Fuckballs, okay, just--get in my closet, yeah?"

Luke eyes widened as Michael started dragging him to a small, dark room. A very dark room with human clothes hanging everywhere, and Luke could already feel himself starting to relive the bad memories; the bad people, and what they did to him. Michael shoves him inside, and starts to close the door, before Luke interrupts, "Michael, dark!" he says, and Michael rolled his eyes. He flipped the light on, and Luke lets out a small breath of relief, since the darkness in now gone.

"I know it's dark, thats the point! The darkness will keep you hidden, yeah? It's not going to be for very long," says Michael calmly, and turns the lights back out. He shuts the door before he sees Luke's panicked face, before he sees him sit on the floor as his mind replays all the memories from his planet, and all the bad people who once hurt him. But, of course, Michael didn't see any of this, and left Luke to relive everything he wanted to forget.

Michael straightened up his clothes, before going out to greet his two friends (and act like nothing strange is going on). He walked out of the room, shutting his door quietly, and hiding his nervousness as he walks into the living room. He takes a quick deep breath, and reminds himself that it's only Ashton and Calum, and that he has nothing to worry about. Plus, he really couldn't see Luke walking out of the closet, so everything will be fine.

Calum hears Michael coming from the hall, so he smiled kindly at the boy. Ashton noticed him second, giving him a small nod, but was too focused on getting himself food to do or say anything more. He shoved a few chips inside of his mouth, moaning about how good they taste. Michael and Calum glanced at each other, before turning back to Ashton with weird looks. Ashton noticed they were staring at him, so he motions out the bag of chips, "Want some?"

"No, I'm good," he answered with a laugh, making Ashton shrug and mutter the words, 'suit yourself,' underneath the breath, before shoving a few more into his mouth. Turning to face Calum, Michael asks, "How was school today?"

The Maori boy groaned, "It was fucking terrible! Professor Riggs gave us some speech before we turned in our essays about it had to be in a specific font--which, by the way, he didn't clarify. So I basically failed my essay because I wrote in the wrong font. The wrong font! And then, he decided to play favorites, because Marissa was five hundred words off, yet he told her it was fine! Do you know how much that pissed me off?" Calum says, the anger from before evident in his voice.

Michael snickered at the boy, whom was now crossing his arms and grumbling about how 'he hates college and is dropping out,' where as the other two just rolled their eyes at him.  Sometimes Calum could be a bit melodramatic about things, but Ashton and Michael have gotten used to him by now; after three and a half of living together, and a fourteen-year friendship, it normally doesn't even phase them. After a few seconds, Calum was no longer angry, and was back to his normal and happy self.

"I was thinking about ordering pizza, you guys in?" Ashton asks, taking his phone out of his pocket and leaning down onto the counter. Calum agreed instantly, and Michael almost agreed to it himself; pizza is one of his main priorities in his life, if he was being honest. But, he told them no, and made up some lie about 'already eating at work.' Ashton seemed to believe it, but Calum was always one to know when Michael was lying.

He looked at Michael strangely, "Mate, are you feeling okay? You haven't turned down pizza since you had the flu, is everything alright?"

Michael gulped, knowing he was being figured out. Why did he have to be such a bad liar? It always seemed like Calum could figure him out, and Michael isn't sure if that's good or bad. But, for this moment now, if Michael could play it off cool, then everything would be fine, and neither of them would no anything. And, as long as Luke stays quiet, like he's doing now, that would just make everything even better, and would have Michael's worrying on a lower level.

"I'm fine! We had some dinner-thing at our work for boss-appreciation day, so I'm just not hungry," he says, and finishes off the lie with a simple shrug, which added to the effect he was aiming for. It seemed like Calum was actually believing him, as he shrugged to what Michael said and told Ashton what he wanted for toppings. Michael let a small breath escape, almost feeling like he deserved a pat on the back for how well this went and-

A scream fills the apartment, one he knows is the sound of Luke. His faced paled, as he watched the other's eyes widen, with looks of concern washing over each of their faces. Michael gulped; everything had went so smoothly until now, and now he's freaking out again. Something could have happened to Luke, and how would he know? God, why would he shut him in the closet, even after Luke was saying it would be  _'dark.'_

"S-Sorry, I was just, um," Michael passed, taking a breath, "I was watching some horror movies before you got home...guess I forgot to pause it, huh?" Michael laughed awkwardly, but felt relief wash over his body as the other two boys believed what he was saying. He didn't know how Calum and Ashton could have believed such an obvious lie, but at this moment, Michael clouding have cared less. Right now, he just needs to get back to his room, and figure out what happened with Luke.

So, Michael excused himself out of the room, and hurried back into his bedroom. He shut his door behind him, and locked it quickly, before opening his closet door. He flicked the light back on, and saw Luke curled in the corner, his face hidden in his knees as he rocked back and forth. He was mumbling something, but Michael couldn't understand what; it seemed like a different language, if he had to guess? Michael wasn't sure, but he had never heard it before.

He squatted down next to the blonde, not sure whether to talk to him or touch him, because he seemed really frightened. Michael chose the latter, and placed one of his hands onto Luke's back. Luke jumped scaredy, and scooted away until he realized it was only Michael. Michael watched as the blonde let out a breath, but didn't shake the look of fear from off his face. The poor thing was trembling, which started to hurt Michael's heart, since it was partly his fault for placing him in hear.

"Hey, hey, don't be scared. It's just Michael, yeah? What's wrong?" He asked, scooting himself so he was sitting beside Luke, both of their backs against the closet wall. He could hear Luke's shaky breathing as the blue boy tried to regain his relaxation. Michael placed a hand on his knee for comfort, but Luke only coward away from it. So, Michael quickly removed his hand, and sighed briefly, fighting back his feelings of guilt.

"B-Bad people," whispered Luke, "Dark...cold." His words made little since, but from what Michael tried to understand, the dark makes Luke relive bad memories? But, for now, he wants to know more about the said, 'bad people,' and what they could have done that was bad enough to cause Luke this much fear. Though, from the looks of Luke right now, it seems like Michael probably wouldn't get much information actually out of him. 

But Michael, whom isn't the best at dealing with people (or, in this case, aliens), decided to would be bright to ask him about them after all. "Who are the bad people, Luke?" he waited a few seconds, seeing Luke was unresponsive to his question. So, with a sigh, Michael stands up from the closet, and pulls Luke up along with himself. "Never mind, we can talk about this later, okay?"

Luke nodded, but he did not want to talk about this later. If he had a choice in the matter, he would, want to talk about the subject at all. But, he brought it up stupidly, and now it's in Michael's head. Michael will bring it up later, and Luke knows it, but there isn't anything he could do. Although...he could brainwash it out of Michael mind; have the other not even realized  Luke mentioned anything about it. But, his mother did tell him to only brainwash when it was completely necessary, and Luke guessed this wasn't very much of a big deal.

"For now, it's like nine, and I haven't eaten since, like, twelve. So just stay right here, and I'll be right back with chips, okay?" Michael says, sitting Luke down on his bed again. "Here, just, play with this," Michael handed him his phone out of his pocket, making sure to unlock it first, before letting him begin to tap away onto the screen like it was the most interesting thing ever.

Michael watched him for a moment, smiling to himself, before turning out the door and going into the kitchen. Calum and Ashton had wandered somewhere else inside the house, leaving Michael alone with his thoughts, and going over all the events that just happened over and over again in his head; an _alien_ appeared inside of his apartment, and now he is having to hide it from his two other roommates, which is going to be much more difficult than he anticipated.

"God, what the fuck am I going to do?" Michael groaned, placing his head in his hands in leaning his back against the wall. This entire day has been crazy, and part of him just wants to sleep and pretend it was all just a dream.

But, maybe, this will be more fun than Michael could have thought?

 


	2. the darkest skies have the brightest stars

Michael wasn't as hungry as he had assumed, but he still brought some food back inside his room incase Luke would want anything. It almost feels weird, like he's now having to take care of someone, in ways he's never done. Sure, when Ashton broke his leg last year, he and Calum had to take care of him until he was back to normal. But Luke is more...special; with Luke, it feels like Michael has more of a responsibility in making sure he's okay.

It's funny, Luke has been inside the house for little over three hours, yet he already has Michael looking out for him. The boy was still sitting in the exact same position Michael had left him, his legs criss-crossed with the phone laid in front, his fingers tapping away. Michael smiling silently too himself, before making his presences know as he walked into his room. He placed the food on the end of the bed, before going back to lock his door quickly.

He sits on the bed across from Luke, whom was so fascinated by Michael's phone he didn't even realize the boy had came in. Michael noticed he was playing on his Instagram, and was liking every picture that comes up on the screen. Luke probably didn't even realize what he was doing, since it seemed he was only interested in the pretty pictures. But, nonetheless, he was scrolling throughout the entire thing, and stopping at certain pictures of the sky, that made him spark up.

Michael was going to say something, but watching Luke being so utterly happy about something so small is kind of adorable. He scrolled passed some random selfies that were posted, muttering the word, 'pretty' to a few, but only paying real attention to the pictures of space. Michael has always thought space was beautiful, and he might have followed a few accounts about it, but nothing has been as great as seeing Luke's reactions to the pictures. 

On pictures of stars, it seemed like Luke would get just a little bit happier each time he saw one. Sometimes, he would sigh, and Michael imagined it was because he was missing his home. Michael decided to help him out a bit, taking the phone out of his hands briefly, and clicking on one of the space account he follows. When handing it back, Luke let out a happy gasp, and a smile was prominent on his face as he began to scroll through all the pictures.

"I brought some food in here, incase you wanted to eat, or something," Michael begins, as Luke completely ignores every words he says. Though, he continued talking, knowing Luke wasn't listening, "I also brought you a soda, since it was that or a beer, and I figured soda would be a better bet. Are you even hungry? I didn't know if you, like, eat on your planet, so I didn't really know how to supply..."

At this point in the conversation, Michael sighed to himself; it was pointless trying to talk with him whilst he was distracted, because the conversation was going no where. It almost felt like Michael was talking to a brick wall, since Luke was being so unresponsive. He obviously didn't care what Michael was trying to say, so with a 'fuck it' attitude, Michael opened the chips and began eating them himself, without caring if Luke wanted any anymore.

He started to watch the boy once more, trying to figure out what could be going through his head at the moment. Luke was still doing the same thing as before, scrolling through all the pictures and only stopping for the ones that were pretty. Michael wondered how long it would be before he gets bored, because he was kind of wanting his phone back, and was ready to lay in bed and watch Netflix. But, with Luke sitting there, that would be a hard thing to do.

Minutes passed, and Michael really wanted to just take the phone away, until Luke said one thing,  _"Home."_ He showed Michael the picture, and it wasn't a star, like he once said, but it was actually a planet. Luke was from Uranus. Michael took the phone out of his hands, examining the picture quickly, and looking up at Luke in awe. Luke is from a different planet, and now he actually knows which one it is.

"This is your home?" Michael asks, showing Luke the planet one more time, though he already knew the blonde's answer. 

Luke nodded his head excitedly, "Home," he repeated, not realizing how confused and curious he was leaving Michael. Michael serious couldn't wrap his head around everything that has happened today, starting from the fucking blue light when he was walking home. Everything about what he thought was normal has now been changed, and he can't tell whether it was for better or for worse.

"Okay, so I have an alien from Uranus sitting on my bed, this can't get any stranger, right?" Michael asks, to no one in particular, until he locked eyes with Luke. Then, he basically begged the boy, "Please, tell me this can't get any weirder," to which Luke only shrugged his shoulders. Michael groaned, muttering about how he 'has no idea what he's going to do,' and placing his face inside his hands. 

Luke watched him curiously for a moment, wondering why the human tends to always hide his face inside his hands; his face is pretty, it shouldn't be hidden! Luke pouted to himself, tilting his head slightly to the side as he wondered why the pretty boy always does this. Does Michael think he isn't pretty? Luke doesn't want for Michael to think he isn't pretty, because he is the prettiest human Luke's ever seen (and the only human he's ever seen, but that's irrelevant).

Luke tapped Michael on the head gently, causing the boy to look up from his hands with furrowed eyebrows. Then, Luke tells him sweetly, "No hide!" He cupped a hand over one of Michael cheeks, and smiled bashfully, "Pretty."

Michael gulped, his face heating up slightly at the compliment he received. He isn't used to being given compliments, so for a few seconds, Michael was left speechless. How do you even respond in this situation? An alien just called him pretty, and Michael is half-sure Luke doesn't even know what that means. Or, maybe he doesn't know how to accept a compliment, like what Luke is trying to give him, so he's trying to act as Luke didn't mean it? Knowing Michael, it's most likely the latter.

He cleared his throat, shaking all of those thoughts out of his head, before saying, "Here, drink this," and handing Luke the soda he grabbed for him. Luke stared at the can with furrowed eyebrows, looking to Michael to explain what to do with it. Michael laughed, "It's a soda, you just drink it! Here, just watch me," he says, and grabs his can off of his bedside table to explain how to do this.

He pointed out the tab at the top for Luke, as the boy watched his actions intently. He tried to copy Michael's motions, but by the expression on his face, he wasn't getting it. So, when Michael actually opened the drink, Luke went from confused to bewildered. How did he even do that? Luke knew he wouldn't have been able to copy Michael's actions , but he did have another way of opening it up his sleeve...

Michael watched as Luke took his hand off the tab, and placed the drink on the table. Confused, the started to interrupt and ask what he was doing, but then he noticed how concentrated the boy was on watching his can of soda. He didn't understand what could have been so interesting about a can of Mountain Dew, but for some reason, Luke was focused on it like there wasn't anything else inside of the room. Maybe this was something they do on his planet, because it isn't something your supposed to do on earth.

As that thought came into his mind, the soda can began to rattle. Michael's eyes began to widen, as Luke began to tilt his head slightly downward as he stared at the can. Then, like what Luke was expecting to happen, the tab bent forward, and the can opened just like Michael had shown him moments before. Michael was stunned as he tried to take in everything that he just witnessed; Luke has telekinesis, which is fucking crazy. He literally opened a soda with his  _mind_.

Though, it seemed  that Michael was the only person reacting this way, because Luke simply took the drink off of the table, and took a sip. He made a face, not sure whether he liked or disliked the substance. It wasn't terrible, but it was cold, and Luke doesn't like anything that is cold, not even if it is a drink. But, it did taste quite good, and he doesn't really want to stop drinking it, so he does the only obvious thing.

He holds the drink inside his hand, and thinks of the warmest things possible. He can feel the drink start to heat inside his grip. A small strip of steam irrupted from the drink, to Luke decided to lay off of the heat. He tried the drink again, and this time it was perfect. He looked up at Michael with a smile, but it slowly faded away once he saw the boy's gaping and scared expression. Luke didn't know what he did to scare Michael, but whatever it is seemed to have done quite a bit of damage to the boy.

"Y-You just," Michael motion to the drink, "with your mind! That's insane! This cannot be happening right now, this has to be a fucking dream, or something," he stood up from the bed and began to pace the floors. Michael ran a hand through his red hair thinking in his mind of the ways this could be considered normal, and drawing a blank, because this is no where near anything normal. Normal people can't do things with their minds! This entire situation isn't normal, and it's beginning to mess with Michael's head.

"Luke do wrong?" Luke asks, his eyes widened like a sad puppy. Michael sighed; he didn't even realize this was probably common for Luke, like having the power to move things with his mind could be considered his normal. Maybe he should take his point of view into consideration? Michael knew he was kind of being a jerk, and that he should try to act as if this wasn't having such an effect on him, for Luke's sake, at least.

Michael shook his head, trying not to feel too guilty for worrying Luke. "No, you didn't do anything wrong; you didn't mention you have telekinesis, which is a pretty big deal--huge, fucking  _enormous_  deal--other than that, everything's fine!" He thought that his words had came off nicer than normal, but judging from Luke's expression, he still sounded like a dick. What's Michael supposed to do? This is only his personality, and he can't be expected to change the way he is just to suit Luke's needs...right?

God, he sounds like such an asshole. It seems like everything Michael does to try and be nice backfires, and now he isn't sure what to do; does he try to apologize? Does Luke even know what an apology is? Michael is stumped by this entire situation, starting from the moment he saw the blue alien. He couldn't blame Luke for any of this, since he is really just being himself, and he wouldn't understand why Michael was making it his fault. 

Luke opened his mouth to say something, but paused when something came back into his mind; but, the strange thing, he was no longer with Michael, nor inside of the apartment, he was somewhere dark. He was transported into a void, surround by pitch black and coldness. He looked around, trying not to leet himself get scared, but the familiar feeling of helplessness began to take over his body. His voice was weakened, and it felt like something was stopping him from being able to speak.

He uttered out a name, "M-Michael?" but was met without a response. He gulped, and tried again, "Michael here too?" he asked, his echo filling the dark place as the nothingness attacked the boy. He was sitting in what felt like water, and he couldn't see anything. Luke tried to stand up, but realized he couldn't see where to go, what could be waiting. He gulped; Luke just wanted to go back, be safe again on earth like his mother had planned. Yet somehow, he was sent here, without knowing who or what did it.

Luke tried to stay calm, debating on whether to call for someone again, but halts when a loud an angry voice takes over...a voice he recognizes immediately. It was speaking in his language, but was translated to English when being recognized by Luke, "Lurtxlyn! You tried to escape us, but it did not work. We know where you are, and we will get you back, one way or another. Earth seems safe, indeed, but you should have tried harder."

Luke was sitting again, hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his face. He cupped his hands over his ears, trying anything to get the voice out of his head. He subconsciously started rocking, repeating the words, "no, no, no, no," over and over, hoping it would help log out the voice of his master. Luke didn't realize the voice wasn't coming from outside, but was being sent directly inside his  _mind_ ; he was literally getting inside of Luke's head, and was making sure it was known he would get his subject back.

He was breathing hard and uneven. It was like he was experiencing the worst panic attack of his life, and had no way of making it stop. This was pure  _torture_ , as he felt like he could go crazy from how intense the sounds inside his mind were becoming, and from the thought of having to go back, and live under the laws of his master once again. Everything in his body was aching, and Luke was almost in tears by how much he was hurting.

"Special one, we will make this stop, but only if you agree to come back to the planet to continue testing. If you disagree, then things will be much, much worse than what you are feeling now," He explained, as Luke let out a small whimper from the back of his throat. His master continued, "So, Lurtxlyn, will you be returning to us soon? Or, will we have to have our little... _chats_  continue?" he asked.

This decision was harder than it should be. Luke knows his answer, and he wants to say it, but is it worth the results? The voice continued to pester Luke about giving an answer, which was only making things worse; he knows what he wants to say, but he's scared to find out what will happen to him when it's said. Honestly, he doesn't want to imagine the ways of torture that will come from this choice, because Luke will have it terrible either way he chooses. He'd be tormented if he goes back and gets tested, but will be tormented more for saying no.

Luke gulped, because he was seriously about to do this. He took a breath through his nose, trying to concentrate of calming himself down before giving his answer. He focused on forgetting about anything the voice has told him, and knowing that he can take whatever will come from this. He's brave, and he can do this. Luke searched for his voice, which seemed to have disappeared briefly, before speaking softly, "N-No."

"What?" It asks him, loud and angry.

"Luke said,  _no_ ," his confidence was beginning to build back up, taking his head out from hiding and looking into the black abyss. His next words might have been too confident, and maybe he should have kept his mouth shut, but it was too late as the words escaped from his lips before he could stop them, "Luke is staying here. Not going back, ever!"

For a while, it was silent. The only sounds heard were the ethos of Luke's breathing and the rustling of water. It was too quiet, that it almost seemed fake, like a trick. Briefly, it almost seemed to be peaceful. Luke wondered if he had left him alone, and decided to let him go freely, but in the back of his mind he knew that would never happen. Though, he decided to have hope. After a minute of silence, Luke let a smile come onto his face, because this could have meant one thing; he had won.

That was when the ear-splitting noise irrupted, far worse than the first.

Michael was close to panic attack as well, except his reason was a bit different than Luke's. He had been in the middle of talking with the boy, until he glanced up and saw Luke's eyes roll to the back of his head, and watched as he passed out cold. It seemed crazy, because only seconds before he and Luke were actually having a conversation--well, Michael was having a conversation, and Luke was barely even speaking English, to be more clear.

Michael was staring wide-eyed at the boy for much longer than he intended, as he was stumped on what he needed to do. Does he shake the boy? Slap him? Talk to him util he wakes up? Michael has never experienced someone full-on fainting with him before, so he isn't sure of what needed to be done in order to have in wake up. It might not help that he's also freaking out, but Michael seriously isn't sure of how to 'stay calm' while an alien is literally out cold on his bed.

He climbed next to the boy, sitting beside him on the bed as he gulped. He reached out on of his hands, and carefully places it on Luke's shoulder. He gives it a little shake, and watches to see if that would be enough to wake him. Sadly, it wasn't, and Luke was still out. Michael mentally gave himself a small pep-talk, before trying the shaking once again. He did it rougher this time, in hopes that it would work better, only to be met with the exact same results as before. He ran a hand through his hair, as he looked down at the blue boy, wondering what he needs to do.

Should he go ask Calum and Ashton? They would probably know more about it, since he's pretty sure Calum is actually hypoglycemic, and has experienced this a few times in his life. The only problem with doing that is, he would have to lie yet again, which he really doesn't want to do. If he could figure out a way to ask without making the others wonder why, it would be perfect, but Michael is pretty sure that is almost impossible. 

He needs to go and ask them, but he's scared for Luke's sake. It was hard enough to lie just hours before, and now Luke has passed out, which makes things even worse. Maybe, he should just bite the bullet, and go ask. Michael knows thats what needs to be done, and he's going to do it...just, after he finds another way to hide Luke from them. He sighed, because this is becoming way too complicated than it needs to be; it's just Ashton and Calum, and he shouldn't be getting so worked up over nothing.

He stands up, and starts heading to the door. But, when reaching it, Michael pauses; he can't believe it's taking so much out of him to go and ask the two boys a simple question. So, with a fuck it attitude, Michael opens his door and walks into the living room. It was unexpectedly empty, which caused Michael to furrow his eyebrows. With a shrug, Michael walked over to Calum's room, and knocks on the door gently. He let out a sigh of relief when hearing the other boys inside, and tried to seem like nothing important was happening so the two wouldn't worry.

Calum opened the door, laughing to himself when seeing Michael. "Dude, you never knock, are you sure you're alright?" His tone was joking, but Michael still felt himself tense up as Calum mentioned it. It felt like he played it of cool, as he silently laughed and stepped into the room, nodding in acknowledgment to Ashton, who was sitting on the bed. Ashton smiled, like his usual and happy self, which was already making Michael feel much more calm about everything.

Michael nodded, still standing near the door, because this needed to be as fast as possible so he can return to Luke. He gulped, and tried to figure out how to say this question in a way that wouldn't make the other two boys curious; he already knows that won't happen, but hey, a boy can still have hope. Should he just come right out and say it, blunt and to the point? Or, should he actually try to figure out a lie? Knowing he is the worst liar on the entire planet, Michael really wants to choose the first option. But, in order to protect Luke as much as possible, Michael decided to come up with a lie that doesn't seem terrible?

"So, you know how I was watching that horror movie, right?" Michael asks, to which the other two boys nodded their heads. He continues, "Well, the serial killer knocked out the girl, and the boy was freaking out about not knowing what to do, which got me thinking...uh, what exactly  _do_  you do when someone faints?" he asked.

 For a few seconds, Calum looked skeptical, but with a shrug, he answers, "My mum always said to lay a warm cloth against their forehead, and to remove anything constricting, like tight clothing and what not." Michael nodded along, making sure to take mental notes incase this ever happened again, just as Calum says, "Oh! She also said to never leave them alone, because theres always a risk of them not being about to breathe, and you should watch incase anything gets too severe."

Michael's eye widened, but he tried to act nonchalant about the situation, so the other boys wouldn't figure anything out. He started heading for the door, telling Calum a quick 'thank you', and mentioning a 'goodnight' to each other the boys, before quickly exiting the room. He rushed back into his room, seeing Luke in the exact position as when Michael left him, and Michael didn't know whether to be worried or relieved. He quickly went to Luke's side, and leaned down to listen for his breathing. To Michael's joy, Luke seemed to be breathing fine, so the boy quickly rushed to fetch a warm rag.

It took a matter of seconds until he was back, and he placed it onto Luke's forehead as gently as possible. Michael sighed, sitting himself next to the boy, and placing a hand comfortably on his arm. What is he supposed to do? It's not only about Luke's condition right now, but about this whole thing all together; is Michael going to keep hiding him, until one day Ashton and Calum find out? How would he even explain himself for that? Then, on the other hand, he couldn't possible through Luke out, and make the boy live on an unfamiliar planet on his own. That would be cruel and uncalled for.

He decided to shake those thoughts out of his mind, and focus on other things. One thing he was wondering was what Luke could have been dreaming about--Michael hoped it was something good, and he's glad that he doesn't know of the torture being placed onto the poor soul. It might seem selfish, but Michael was really wanting Luke to wake up, because he was curious in finding out more about his alien-friend. There were so many questions he had for the boy, and Michael couldn't wait for them to get answered.

He decided to try and pass the time a bit, so Michael quickly stands up and walks to his drawers, searching for something to sleep in. It was getting pretty late, so once Luke wakes up and is made sure to be fine, Michael is going to bed. He quickly changed shirts, into one much more comfortable, and just decided to remove himself of his skinny jeans; it was the middle of September, and was yet to get cold, so he felt no need for putting on pajama pants at the moment. And, Michael also got out a shirt for Luke to sleep in, since whatever the hell he's wearing looked rather uncomfortable.

As Michael had just put his shirt over his head, he heard a small gasp interrupt from behind, followed by heavy breathing. He quickly turned around, and sees Luke was now awake, and had a look of fear written all over his face. The poor boy looked petrified, and as Michael quickly went to get by his side, he watched Luke coward away in fear. He was at the corner of Michael's bed,  which gave Michael the advantage of being face-to-face with him, and making sure to calm him down. 

He was trembling with fear, and Michael tried comforting him in whatever way possible. His knees were brought to his chest, as his breath began to normalize, and his shivering started to seize. Michael let out a small breath of relief, as he could visually tell Luke was getting much less frightened as time went on. Soon enough, Luke found himself muttering the words of what happened, since he knew Michael would want to ask questions, "B-Bad man, in Luke's head. Loud, a-and cold.  _Dark_ , Michael!"

Michael nodded along to what Luke said, his words not making much sense, but enough for him to understand what is going on. Luke almost couldn't speak without going back, like his mind would restart the loud ringing of the noise and he almost was going mad. But, Michael noticed the sudden and new sense of hurt Luke was starting to feel, so he began to try and think of a way to take the boy's mind off of it. And, the only thing he could think of was to sleep, and hopefully not have another terrible nightmare.

Michael took the boy by the hand, and gently motion for him to stand up. Luke did as told, but slowly, as Michael was afraid he may fait again. The, Michael grabbed the shirt he had laid out for Luke to wear, and hands it to the boy. Luke stared at it confusedly, so Michael explained, "It's for you to sleep in, yeah? Change out of these," Michael tugged on the metallic-silver outfit he was sporting, "and put on this! It'd be much more comfortable."

Luke looked at him confusedly, so Michael sighed, knowing this was going nowhere. So, finally took the shirt and placed it on the bed, saying, "Okay, just--lift your arms," Luke did as he was told, and put his arms over his head. Michael grabbed the bottom of his shirt, and helped the boy get it over his head. After it was removed, Michael was greeted with the slender and thin body of the boy. His body was the same color as his face, matching the blue and looking beautiful in Michael's eyes. But, he quickly gulped and looked away, grabbing the shirt and placing it over his head.

It was a bit too big, and it almost swallowed Luke whole. Michael silently chuckled as he grabbed ahold of the waist of Luke's pants, and helped the boy out of those next. But, the one thing he wasn't expecting was to be met with the bare lower-half of the alien. Michael's face heated, as he stood up abruptly and took a pair of his boxers out of the drawer. "Okay, underwear must not be a thing on your planet," he says, hiding his blushing face from Luke view. He tried not to pay attention to any, uh,  _parts_  of the boy, and just helped him inside of the briefs so they could sleep. 

Michael took hold of his hand, and led him back to the bed. He got underneath the covers, and motioned for Luke to do it as well. Luckily, the boy began to follow his actions, and started to  lay beside the other, waiting for what he should do next. He took his phone out, and check his Twitter quickly as he laid in bed. He felt Luke  scoot himself closer, and peak his head onto Michael shoulder to see what the boy could be doing. Plus, Luke was interested in anything that contained the pretty shape with the light-up screen (which is also called a phone). 

He realized it was past midnight, and even though Michael usually stays up much later into the night, he decided to turn in for the night. Plus, with all of the events that have happened, he figured sleep might be something he could use right now; not to mention poor Luke, who just went through hell with whatever he went through. So, Michael just figured it might be best if they turned in for the night.

 Michael reached up to turn out the lamp, and they were met with the darkness surrounding the room. He could feel Luke tense up, his breath catching in his throat briefly in fear. He gulped, and began to back away and for a small ball as he squeezed his eyes shut. He was scared that the bad man would come back, and retake his thoughts to fill them with terrors. That was, until Michael whispers, "Hey, don't worry, I'm right here. You're safe with me, okay?"

Luke gulped, but nodded his head, slowly laying it back down onto the pillow. For a while, they were still. Michael almost felt the feeling of sleep overtake him, until the weight of another person was placed onto his torso, as a head was now laying on his chest. He opened an eye, seeing Luke now laying comfortably on the other, his only explanation for his position being, "Cold. Michael, warm," before closing his eyes to fall asleep.

Michael sighed to himself, trying to hide the smile from his face. Maybe, this won't be as bad as he thought.

 


	3. a waffle a day keeps the aliens away

Michael didn't wake up until the sun shone through his window. Normally, he wakes up multiple times throughout the night, but he slept better than he had in months. Though, he was quite grouchy during the morning, so a small groan escaped his mouth as the light was landing on his face. He flung his arm across his eyes, and tried to roll onto his stomach, but was met with the body of another laying against himself. A small smile came on Michael's face as all the memories from the day before come back into his mind.

It still makes him wonder how all of these events could have happened to such a nobody like himself. If this would have happened to someone famous--like the fucking Kardashians, or something--then it would be spread around to everyone in the world that there's life on other planets. But, it came to Michael; it's like Michael was chosen to take care of Luke, or something. Okay, it might not actually be that deep of a subject, but it is a nice thought to think that aliens specifically chose for Michael to take care of their fellow species (though he knows that's quite untrue).

Luke was sound asleep next to Michael. His back was facing the other boy, but Michael could hear the deep breaths coming from his blue body. His blonde hair wasn't styled perfectly, as before, and it seemed to have gotten messy just like a human's would. But, it seemed that was the only thing that changed during their slumber, because from what Michael was able to see, Luke still looked pretty perfect. Michael looked away from the boy before any further thoughts could circle his mind, and decided to check the clock to see how early it actually was.

It read to be seven-thirty, and Michael almost had to do a double-take when seeing it. The last time he woke up this early was during high school, since all of his college classes were scheduled during the afternoon. Just knowing it was this early caused a yawn to escape his throat, as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He decided to lay himself back down, his back turned away from Luke, as he tried to let sleep retake his body. It didn't come as soon as he had hoped. What felt like thirty minutes had already passed, and here he was, still wide awake.

Michael groaned again. He didn't understand why he couldn't fall back to sleep, because it normally happens as soon as his head hits the pillow. He turned to the other side, closes his eyes, and waits for the feeling of sleep to come again. It never did. Ten minutes turned into fifteen, and then into twenty, and Michael rubbed his face as he became wide awake. It felt like he couldn't stop his mind from running, as his tired body was being kept wide awake. To be honest, it felt like he should just wake up, maybe fix some breakfast and catch up on Eyewitness.

Michael was trying to motivate himself to actually stand, but that all ended when he felt Luke's movements . Luke was slightly pushing himself back into the boy's chest, sleepy noises leaving his throat as Michael watched him rub his eyes tiredly. He gulped; what was Luke trying to do? Did he want Michael to do something? Or, was Michael overanalyzing everything the boy was doing? It seems like the latter option, since Michael tends to read into people's actions without even realizing.

That was when Luke reached for Michael's arm. Michael was already turned on his side, facing towards Luke's back, so the pull on his arm almost caused the boy to flip over. But, there was no room for him to flip, because Luke had already placed himself flesh against Michael's body. His face heated, as he tried to tell himself that Luke was too innocent to realize this was something out of Michael's comfort zone. Michael isn't a very big cuddler, so he isn't very used to these types of things.

"Cold," Luke said, his tired voice having a hint on nonchalantness laced through. "Michael, warm," he adds quietly, and soon enough, Michael hears little snores escaping from Luke's mouth. Michael smiled slightly to himself, as he silently watched the younger boy. A yawn escaped from his mouth, and he was actually starting to find himself getting sleepy again. So, eventually, Michael gave a little shrug before pulled Luke closer to his chest and resting his head back down onto the pillow.

The only difference between this time with all the other's is that Michael actually happened to fall asleep! And, just like the night before, he slept soundlessly and actually felt like he was refreshed when waking back up. He didn't dream anything, which isn't anything new, because Michael doesn't normally have dreams during the night. Though, he could feel Luke tossing and turning against him, which made him wonder what could be going through the blonde's head that would make him so fidgety as he sleeps.

At first, Michael worried about it being the  _'bad people'_ again. He wasn't given much information about these said people--to be honest, Luke doesn't give much information at all--so, he was still a bit confused on what these people could be. Were they actual human-or-alien-things, or were they only things inside Luke's head? There wasn't a way for Michael to answer this, because Luke is the only one who truly knows what they are. And, no matter how much it would help, Michael cannot get inside Luke's head. 

Even if it was all something in Luke's head, and these people weren't actually real, it still shouldn't be happening to him. No one deserves to go through whatever the hell happened last night, because he was so shaken up over it even an hour after it happened. Hell, even Michael was shaken up over it, and he doesn't even know what actually happened! It was all so crazy, and he might not ever fully understand what's going on inside Luke's head.

Michael did eventually fall back asleep, and part of him was screaming it was because he needed someone to cuddle with all along. Or, it might just be his body actually cooperating for once his life; Michael wasn't exactly sure, but he didn't care, because it gave him the beautiful gift of sleeping. But, he was a bit jealous of how soundlessly Luke was sleeping beside him, cuddling Michael's arm into his chest.

They were both sound asleep, and it would have been cute to see, until they were awoken by a loud  _'bang!'_  at the door. The two boys jolted awake, as a horrified look begins to appear on Luke's face, his eyes filling with worry and his breath catching in his throat. Michael's eyes widened, as he feared Luke might go into another crazy fainting-spell like he did last night, even though this was probably just one of the guys coming to wake Michael up. He watched Luke gulp, as he seemed to subconsciously scoot closer, like he was looking for protection.

"Hey, don't worry," Michael begins in a whisper, making his voice calm to settle some of Luke's nerves, "It's just one of the roommates, okay? Don't be scared of them, they're really nice! Well, when they are eating my food, or calling me a dumbass." Michael paused. By the look on Luke's face, it seemed the boy wasn't getting it, so Michael decided to try and explain things a little bit better than before, "They're my friends! Calum and Ashton, who are basically my brothers, my family."

Luke looked up at him, their eyes locking briefly, as he asked Michael quietly, "Friends?" His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, and Michael was just wondering how he didn't know what a friend was.

"A friend is...someone you can rely on. They, like--they have you back, even when things are tough? And, they will always be there for you, through thick or thin, in rain or shine! Friends are kind of hard to explain, it's like, you just know when you have one, you get me?" Michael asks, and to his surprise, Luke actually nodded his head with a small smile on his face. Michael decided not to think on it much, and with a shrug, got himself out of bed to stand in the middle of his bedroom.

He was going towards the door, and had even unlocked it before finally realizing they couldn't go outside yet. How he forgot such a major detail is beyond his thoughts, but now, they are left with quite a problem; Luke is blue. He can't go outside while still being completely blue! It would then become obvious to Ashton and Calum that he was an alien, and Michael knows that it would be best to leave them in the cold about this. It's for Luke's safety, and even though it will probably be hard to do, he has to remember that it's for the best.

Michael sighs. There isn't a way he can make Luke look human, and there also isn't a way Luke can leave the room whilst being blue. He can't magically turn a human-color, right? That has to be impossible, right? Well, Luke did open a soda can with his mind, and he is form another planet, so he might actually be able to do this! But, the biggest problem is if Luke will understand what Michael is asking, and it seems unlikely.

It never hurts to try, Michael has to remind himself. So, he clears his throat to grab Luke attention, and when the blonde looks up at him, Michael says, "Okay, I know this sounds really crazy,and you probably won't even understand what any of this means, but it's worth a try. So, Luke, I need you to change your skin color so you look human." Michael put that as blunt as possible, in hopes that maybe Luke would understand. 

Luke eyebrows furrowed, and he tried to take in all of what Michael is saying. He must look human? Why must Luke need to look like a human? He didn't understand the tactics of why he must do this, and he is confused on why his looks even mattered. But, Luke isn't even sure if he  _can_  make himself appear to be a human. Those types of things take lots of energy and his strength in telekinesis might not be high enough for that yet. But, like Michael does, it wouldn't hurt for Luke to try, so that's exactly what he's going to do.

Luke stands up from the bed, and pushes Michael down onto it. Michael was taken aback for a few seconds, so Luke says, "Michael, sit. Luke trying to be human!" before placing his hands on Michael's shoulders and closing his eyes. Michael's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, as he watched intently on what the boy was doing. Luke was focused on trying to change himself to look human, and Michael was silently praying that whatever he is doing will work, because Luke doesn't deserve to stay inside his bedroom the whole time.

Luke tried to figure out ways on turning himself human-like, but he was unsure of how to do so. He doesn't even know much about humans! He only got to Earth the night before, so he hasn't had any time to even figure out the properties that make up humans. Though, he could always try going by their physical-appearances, since all he has to do is change his skin color (even though he still doesn't understand the big deal about having blue skin).

Around a minute passed, and Michael watched as Luke opened one of his eyes slightly. He took a hand off of Michael's shoulder, as his face dropped when realizing all he just did hadn't worked. He frowned, saying quietly, "Luke still blue," and look down at his hands. Michael wasn't sure what he needed to say, what he needed to do, since he had never experienced something like this before. Does he encourage Luke do try again? Does Luke even have the ability to do something like this? Michael didn't know, but he wanted to believe Luke could do this. 

"Hey, it's fine, you can always try again-" Michael started to tell Luke to retry, but found himself being cut off by the boy. Or, more specifically, Luke cut him off by kissing him; he had grabbed Michel from the back of his neck and smashed their lips together, so quickly Michael almost couldn't comprehend what was happening. He was kissing the boy deeply, and Michael felt his tongue try to slip into Michael mouth, and the older boy was in such a shock over the whole ordeal that he almost didn't grant the access.

But, then it seemed like Michael figured things out, because his hands went to Luke's hips as he squeezed the bit of skin there to try and receive a reaction. And, he did receive a reaction, but it wasn't exactly what Michael was excepting. Luke completely pulled away from the boy, leaving Michael sitting and comprehending what all just happened for a few seconds. It almost felt like Luke's soft mouth was still lingering against his own, and he wasn't sure how to handle all of the sudden and weird feelings he began to have.

But, Luke didn't even seem to notice whatever started going on with Michael, because he had already found a new plan in focus. Now that he has some on a human's DNA, it should actually work this time! How he didn't think of this before shocked him, because this was so simple, yet he still forgot to do it? Luke shook the thoughts from his head, and began to regain his focus; his eyes were closed, and he concentrated on looking just like a human, and having the identical features as some he has seen.

By the time Michael was brought back down to Earth, he had almost missed the entire change completely! He had glanced back up to Luke just seconds before his skin started to change. It started out slow; the blue turned pastel, then got even lighter until it started to remember one of a person. Next was the ears, which began to lose the point on the back and developed the nice curve. Lastly, all of Luke's dark-blue freckles became a light brown, and were scattered lightly over his nose. 

Michael must have been in awe, he could almost feel himself believing his eyes were tricking him. This seriously cannot be real, it has to be a crazy dream that he found himself in the middle of. Whatever it is, Michael just watched an alien transform himself to look human, which may or may not have been the coolest thing he has ever seen. But, he has to contain his emotions for a bit, since Luke is still going to have to act as normal as possible around Ashton and Calum.

He cleared his throat, causing Luke's eyes to flutter open and look into Michael's. Michael's eyes went down Luke body, then back up, almost like he was silently signaling for Luke to look over himself. He raised up a hand, and his eyes widened at the new change of color. He was no longer blue! He now had a pale flesh color graced over his body, and a giggle let his throat at the newfound joy which came along with it. The first thing Luke says after seeing himself is, "Luke human! Luke looks like Michael!"

Michael only smiled, standing up from he's seat on the bed so he could walk towards the door. He gets to it, before stopping and turning around to tell Luke, "Okay, stay here for a few seconds so I can make up something, just incase Ash and Cal start asking a bunch of questions." Then, the bright-red headed boy turned the knob and walked outside, gently closing his door behind himself. He lets out a breath, like he was mentally preparing himself, before walking out of the hallway and into the living room.

Calum looks at him with a thankful look, muttering something about how it 'took him long enough' as he munched on a piece of toast. Ashton was keeping quiet, though, but Michael could feel his eyes watching over him intensely, like he was trying to put pieces together. In slight worry, Michael tried to act as natural as possible, and was wondering what he could say that would make Luke seem the most normal, since he figured telling them about him would be a bad chance to take.

"So, guys, I need to tell you somethi-"

"Why does it look like you've been making out?" Ashton asks bluntly, and quite unexpected, especially coming from him.

Michael's face heated up, as he took a small gulp. What is he supposed to say to this? 'Yeah, me and my new alien-friend just made out so he could make himself look human, pretty normal stuff.' This question definitely caught Michael off guard, and to make matters even worse, his planned lie couldn't even save him from it. He was going to say Luke was his cousin from a distant city, but now that obviously can't work! So, he is basically back to square one.

"Well, my dear and lovely friend, if you wouldn't have interrupted me, I could have explained to you what happened," Michael says, his sass as a cover for the worry of not having anything prepared, and for having to make everything up on the spot. Ashton motioned for him to continue on with what he was saying, which gave Michael a little amount of time to figure out what he is supposed to say. He felt himself start to worry, but he took a few silent deep breaths to calm himself down.

Michael opened his mouth, and saying something along the lines of, "I-I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but I just--I-" again, Michael found himself being cut off, but this time, it was by someone calling his name. The voice was immediately recognized by Michael, and the boy gulped when seeing the other's expressions. It was almost hard to tell what the two were thinking, but Michael could definitely read the confusion on their faces. 

He didn't even have time to explain before the sound of a door shutting was sounded throughout the flat. The pitter-patter of feet cam next, and soon enough, Luke was clinging to Michael like he hadn't seen him in ages. Michael looked from Luke to Ashton and Calum, and for a while, no one spoke. He was worried about the other boy's thoughts; were they mad? Were they shocked? Were they even going to care and is Michael just freaking himself out? His mind was running and he had no words to say.

It was finally Calum who filled the silence, "Bro, when were you going to tell us you had a boyfriend?" Michael's face flushes, and it seemed like Calum thought he had made a mistake, so he awkwardly says, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize you two  _weren't_  dating. I mean, I just assumed that since you two, like--and that he spent the night here, or something--want to help me here, Ash?" Calum asked, turning to the other boy with pleading eyes.

"I think what Calum is try to say is, hi! I'm Ashton, the awkward one is Calum, and we both basically want to know if you're dating Michael. Because if you are, that's wonderful! I was started to worry about him, to be honest, all he ever does is sleep, play video games, go to work, and go to class. He never goes out with us or anything, but hey, I'm just glad that now theres someone that might make him more extroverted!" Ashton rambled, but finds himself being punched in the arm by Calum, who had this look, which Ashton knew meant to shut up.

Michael's face was beat red, and he was very thankful Luke didn't know much about humans, just so he wouldn't know about how embarrassed Michael was. He was also thankful Luke didn't know what a boyfriend actually was, so he wouldn't know what Ashton was even talking about. For all Michael knew, Luke could have thought a boyfriend was just a friend-that-was-male, or something like that. Wait...this gives Michael the perfect idea; he could just claim Luke was his boyfriend, and the boys would obviously by it, which means he doesn't have to worry about Luke as much!

He sighed, trying to keep up the act, so it'd be more believable, "I have been meaning to tell you guys for a while, but I guess I never found the right time? But, now is as good as ever, I guess," Michael says, looking down at the ground with a little smile. He wraps his arm around Luke's waist, and pulls him in closely, before announcing, "This lovely person is my boyfriend, Luke!" Thankfully, Luke didn't say anything, he only smiled happily at the two boys, with the hint of confusion at the word, 'boyfriend.'

Both Calum and Ashton smile happily, as they looked from one boy to the other, finally putting the pieces together. Then, Michael sees Calum have a realization, before stating, "Oh! I guess it was Luke at screamed at the horror movie last night, right?" To which Michael nodded his head. But, sometimes Calum doesn't realize the things he says, nor how they can be taken, "Wait, if Luke was the one who passed out last night, not to assume, but I figured it was him, what exactly did his pass out from?"

Ashton slapped him on the arm roughly, causing Calum to shut up with a small whine. Michael was blushing bright red, as he grabbed ahold of Luke's wrist and tried to hide his embarrassment from the others. He grumbled something about them, 'going to the kitchen,' before walking off and pulling the blonde along with him. He was muttering incoherent words beneath his breath, and Luke watched him with confused eyes as he pulled him into the room. This room looked oddly familiar, but Luke couldn't remember if he had been in here before.

Michael turned to face him, looking straight at him with a unhappy look. Luke watched him with worried eyes, a pout forming on his lips as Michael says, "I thought we agreed on you staying inside my room until I called for you?" his tone wasn't angry, yet at the same time, it wasn't calm? Michael was heated about the situation, but he wasn't mad, because he knew Luke couldn't help himself; he's from a different planet, for fuck's sake! He probably doesn't understand half of the things Michael tells him.

Luke was looking at his bare feet, a sad look resting on his face. Though, Michael didn't notice it, as his rant was still continuing, "Did you hear me call for you? I'm pretty sure I didn't say the name Luke a single time, but hey, maybe you thought you heard me calling. At this point, I don't even know if you understand what I'm even saying!" His words we meant to be used angrily, but it was hard, since he knew Luke basically did nothing wrong.

He turned back to face Luke, who was looking down at the ground, like a little kid being punished. Michael sighed; he didn't mean to yell at the boy, but sometimes he gets carried away and cannot stop himself from saying things he doesn't mean. Plus, he was probably way too harsh on the boy, and he didn't mean to make him sad. God, now he feels guilty, as crazy as the entire situation is.

"Luke didn't mean to," he speaks quietly, looking up and meeting Michael's eyes, "Michael's room boring...Luke lonely, too."

God dammit, Michael feels even worse then before. He wants to apologize, he really does, but he just cannot find the right words to do so. It's complicated; whenever he does something wrong, like right now, it's always hard to find the words for apologizing. His sorry's are normally told through actions, like doing little things to try and make the other happy again. It sounds really stupid now that he think about it, but he can't help it.

Michael decided to do his ways of apologizing, and mutters so quiet Luke almost couldn't hear, "You're probably really hungry, yeah? Here, let me see if there's anything you might eat?" before checking inside the fridge. Luke immediately forgot about the sad feeling from before, and focused on whatever Michael was doing. He watched as Michael walked to a big, white box, and opened the top door of it. That was when Luke remember this room from the day before, and Michael had his hand inside of the cold-machine!

Before Luke could stop him, Michael had already taken a yellow box outside of the freezer and placed it on the counter. He took two gold circles out of the container, and placed the inside of a little square. The top half of the circles were sticking out from the slots, until Michael pressed a button, and they disappeared completely! he'd never seen anything like it before, and when Michael turned to see Luke staring in amazement, he let out a laugh.

He tried his best to explain what a toaster was, but it seemed Luke was wasn't quite understanding. Michael decided it wasn't worth the trouble, and so they waited patiently for the Eggos to finish cooking. It didn't take long--maybe thirty seconds at the most--before the two waffle stopped out of the toaster. Luke jumped at the 'ding' the toaster made, and Michael snickered at the other boy, as he moved to get out the butter and syrup to finish the waffles.

Though, when he turned around, Luke had already taken a bite out of one of the waffles. Michael cringed to himself, as he watched the boy eat the dry waffle in awe. Luke had never had a food quite like this before, since all the food on his planet were completely different than the things they have on Earth. Well, whatever this is called, Luke really enjoys in and kind of wants to eat another. There is another on the plate...and it looks like Michael hasn't done anything to it yet, which gives him an idea.

When Michael had his back turned to the plate, Luke sneakily grabbed the second waffle and took off towards Michael's room, hoping the other boy wouldn't notice. The only problem, he has quite loud footsteps, so Michael turned around in time to see him running out of the room. He checked his plate, almost out on an instinct, and groans when seeing his was now taken as well.

Michael grumbled as he walked out of the kitchen, his arms folded across his chest as Ashton and Calum looked at him confusedly. They were silently asking why Luke just ran out of the room, and Michael says bitterly, "That asshole stole my waffle," and storms off in the direction of his room, hearing the other boys snickering in the background. He thought they were done laughing when it quieted down, but then he heard Calum exclaim loudly:

"Make sure to use protection!"

And even though Michael loves the boy dearly, sometimes he really wants to punch him in the face.

 


	4. finding friends in strange places

For those who don't know, Michael Clifford is a huge nerd.

It's not his fault, because he didn't even realize he was until this moment! But, when Luke decided he wanted to look at the 'mini-humans!' that were on top of his dresser, Michael realized he may have had a problem. They were little action-figures he used to collect, some of which were ones he had as a kid, and Luke thought they might have been the coolest things ever. He didn't exactly understand what they were, nor why Michael had so many, but he just wanted to look at them to examine their appearance.

"Michael keep tiny humans?" Luke asks, tapping his finger gently on Michael's toy. It was so tiny, that Luke was almost scared he'd break it, or something. Though, on the other hand, it felt like plastic, which isn't very fragile. Either way, Luke was still confused on why Michael collects mini people and stands them on his dresser. Do a lot of humans do this? It's definitely not a normal thing on Luke's planet, which is why the action is making him so confused.

Michael shook his head fondly, smiling slightly as he watched Luke examine his collection of things. It was kind of cute, if he had to be honest. Luke would make these cute little expression when looking at each figurine, and some he would actually touch and meddle with. Though, he did knock down Michael's  _'Luke Skywalker,_ ' to which he gasped and asked the figure if it was okay. Michael hated to admit it, but he did laugh at that; it's not like he could help it, and he knows Luke doesn't understand, but it was funny to watch.

Then, after a few more seconds of messing around and meddling, Luke asked Michael, "These Michael's friends too?"

Michael let out another laugh at that, walking over to stand by his dresser to explain to the blonde about action figures. "No, no, these aren't my friends! These aren't even alive, actually, so it'd technically be a little strange if my friends were dolls," Michael felt himself start to get off subject, so he cleared his throat and started back, "Back to the point, these are called action-figures. They are like collectable dolls, to be honest; some of these I've had since I was little, which is why they look more dingy compared to the newer."

Luke nodded along, almost as if he was understanding what Michael meant. Though, both he and Michael knew that he had no idea what he was talking about. But, that doesn't have to mean he can't play with the little figures, which is all that mattered to him at the moment. He scanned the many toys Michael had collected through the years, until one of the ones in the back caught his eye. It looked to be a model of a spaceship, which he had gotten back when  _'Star Wars'_ was his favorite movie. It was a legit set he had set up when he was little, which made him smile slightly when seeing Luke bring it back to view.

"I remember when I first got that toy," Michael spoke, smiling at the memory, "It was a birthday present from Calum, actually. We both were really into Star Wars and Legos, so when he bought me  _Lego Star Wars_ , I swear to god I almost cried." He laughed to himself, thinking back to when they were younger. He and Calum have basically been best friends their entire lives, or at least, since they both can remember.

He continued on with his story, "Then, once we both built out toys, we would run around and pretend they were flying. It was always really fun, until one of us would get sad about it not actually being able to fly, like in the movies. So, then we'd end up grumpy for the rest of the day..." Michael was still talking about his younger memories, but Luke had started to log out the things he was saying, and focus more on what he just heard.

Michael said he used to get sad that his toy couldn't fly, and Luke hates when Michael gets sad. Yet, it seemed like there was really only one obvious subject he needed to do here, and that was to do what Michael was wanting; he was going to make the Star-Fight (or whatever it's called) fly! So, Luke focused his eyes and mind on the starship, and concentrated on how to make it fly. He's done this many times before when he was back home, so this is much easier--it's basically simple telekinesis, which is his specialty.

Luke's brows furrowed at how hard he was thinking, as he watched the toy begin to slightly rattle back and forth. Michael took no notice in what was happening, as he was still going on and on about his childhood, to which Luke was now completely ignoring him. Though, he did want Michael to see what he was doing, because this was all meant to impress the older boy. But, he guessed it would be fine if Michael didn't see until it actually took flight, since that would be the coolest part anyway.

What Luke didn't realize as he was watching the spaceship, his skin turned back to it's original color. He was now shining light-blue, and Michael's eyes subconsciously flickered over when seeing something change. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when seeing Luke was blue again, which made him say, "Luke? Did you know your skin changed back?" to which he gained no answer. That's when he realized his toy was shaking violently, before it slowly started to lift off of the shelf.

His eyes widened when watching what was happening; Luke was actually making his older  _Star Wars_ toy fly,with his mind. Even though Michael has seen him do something like this before, it still blows his mind on how he can do this. Luke's expression softened once his mission was accomplished, and he let out a small breath. His eyes followed over the toy with a small smile on his face, as he was hoping this is what Michael had wanted. 

He glanced over to Michael face briefly, before having to look back over when it started to drop down. Michael had a look of amazement on his face, and it made Luke happy to know it was him who caused it. Luke wanted to say something, but he couldn't figure out the right words to express what he felt, and he could imagine Michael was the same. But, he decided to ill the silence, and spoke quietly, "Michael said ship can't fly, Luke made ship fly!" He gulped slightly, before asking quietly, "Luke make Michael happy?"

"Yeah," Michael started, watching the toy in both shock and thrill, "Fuck, Luke, this is amazing! How can you even do something like this? God, this is...I don't even know what to say--you're so amazing," Michael didn't even realize what he was actually saying at first, until he watched Luke's face begin to heat up. Luke didn't seem to notice the new pink-tone sitting on his perfect blue face. Maybe he doesn't know what blushing even his? Either way, Michael wants to regret his words, but he actually meant what he said; and, fuck, he definitely meant it a lot.

Thinking about everything that's happened in the past day almost makes Michael's head spin. He can't even comprehend everything about Luke, let alone that there's life in other places, and that he can't even tell Ashton and Calum. Not to mention Luke and his 'bad people,' which Michael still doesn't even know the entirety of. The thoughts were starting to circle his mind, and leave him thinking too much, so Michael shook the thoughts from his head. Plus, he had something better to focus on, and that's Luke making his toy fly.

Michael almost felt bashful that Luke did this for him, if he was being honest. He had told Luke that this was something he used to want when he was younger, and so he did just what Michael had wanted. And, Luke did it to _'make Michael happy!'_  which is enough to have butterflies come into Michael's stomach. He's never really had a person (or alien) treat him like this before, and honestly, it feels nice to have someone always wanting to make you happy. 

He was admiring the other boy for longer than he had intended, just wanted to watch him and notice the little things about him. For example, Michael has noticed when Luke is happy, his nose scrunches a bit. Or, when he get excited about something, his eyes brighten up to show it. Is it weird that Michael tries to take in all of this? He just likes being observant of things, and now that Luke's came, he has many different quirks and habits to pick up on...kind of like how his skin has turned back to blue as he moved the toy.

Luke was so focused on keeping the toy in the air that he almost didn't hear the knock on Michael's door. Michael's eyes widened, as he grabbed the toy out of the air before yelling out, "Come in!" Luke closed his eyes, and quickly made his skin regain the human colors, before letting out a small breath of relief. Michael was even more relieved than he was, because there was so many chances of getting caught.

Of course, Calum and Ashton came along to ruin the fun. They gave Michael and Luke awkward looks when seeing their faces turning red, and Ashton quickly mutters, "We didn't, uh, interrupt anything, right? Because we could always come back later, or something--though, not trying to be a buzz-kill or ruin the mood, isn't eleven-thirty a bit early to be _getting it on_?" Ashton didn't realize he said something wrong until Calum had slapped him across the arm. He said a quick apology to the two boys, but especially to Michael, whose face was now as red as an apple.

Michael wanted to kick the other boys out of the room and shove his face in the pillow, but he knew that probably wasn't the best idea while knowing Luke's circumstances. Though, one thing he does regret is saying Luke was his boyfriend, because from now on Ashton and Calum will continuously tease him, like what was just said. But, if he looked on the bright side, this is just getting him set up for when he does get a boyfriend, and will show how the other two will act! So, at least he's getting something out of this, right?

"Luke, I would like to apologize on behalf of Ashton; he isn't normally this blunt, nor awkward about things. Incase you start believing he's some weirdo who talks to much--which isn't entirely false--just know that this isn't always how he acts," Calum speaks, the clear voice of sarcasm and teasing throughout his words. Ashton's expression looked appalled by what Calum was saying, and it caused the boy to become a bit speechless. If anything, Calum might have accidentally offended him, which he wasn't meaning to do.

Ashton cleared his throat bitterly, before saying unenthusiastically, "Well, I would like to apologize on behalf of Calum; he hasn't done anything wrong yet, he's just a bitch," and finishes his words with a shrug. Michael laughed to himself, whilst Luke stared confusedly between the two boys. He was trying his best to act like a human, but there was so much a didn't understand. What even is a bitch? Is that a bad thing to be called? Also, he didn't think Ashton talked to much, he just needed to speak in a way aliens could understand! That is probably the main thing Luke needs, because he doesn't understand much of the things they have been saying.

Michael looked over at the boy, seeing his confused expression and knowing Luke didn't understand the things they were saying. But, there wasn't a way for him to explain whilst the other two in the room; sure, he could just say Luke's 'very innocent,' but even the most innocent of people wouldn't have been confused at this. If anything, it would only make Ashton and Calum further wonder about Luke, which then would start questions Michael might not even have the answers to. So, at this point, Michael is only hoping Luke doesn't do anything weird that could blow their cover.

But, he should have know this was too much to ask for with poor Luke. The sad thing is, Luke doesn't even understand when he does something that comes off as inhuman-like. Yet, it seems that every time his mouth opens, it completely blows his cover. Thats why when Michael noticed him begin to speak, he abruptly cut him off before words cold leave his mouth. It was a rude thing to do, and he knows, but this is way too important and Michael can't have anything mess it up. "So, was there actually a point in you dicks coming in here?"

Ashton nodded, "Tonight, Calum and I were thinking about seeing a movie, or something. And, since we now know about you two lovebirds, we wanted to know if you two would like to come with? We haven't decided on the movie yet, but we figured you two probably would-"

"Yes!" Luke said excitedly, cutting Ashton off by accident. While Ashton and Calum seemed to be happy about the agreement, Michael looked like his could be in living hell. Luke cleared his throat, and tried to speak more calmly and as close to proper english as he could get, "S-Sorry, movie sound fun?" He looked to Michael for a sign of help, but Michael was already thinking about the night in store, and how crazy it's going to get from here on. Luke glanced back at the other two boys, whom looked to be a bit confused about Luke's speaking-skills, but other than that, seemed quite happy!

Michael didn't know what to say about their new 'plans' Luke just created. He couldn't help but think of all the ways their night could go wrong, because Luke doesn't even know what the movies  _are_ , let alone that he'll have to spend around two hours inside. Not only that, but they will be in the one place hat scares him most, the dark. God, Luke won't even be able to handle himself inside there, because it might be even worse than inside the closet; plus, this place will be filled with other people, and from his introduction with Ashton and Calum, Luke isn't the best around new people. 

He wanted to try and be optimistic about this, but Michael was nervous for the night. He watched how Calum was subtly eyeing the boy, and a Michael could tell he was wondering if something was up. He prayed that Calum would think too much in the subject, and that he would eventually forget about it until things were normal again. Thankfully, before anything could have been said, Ashton interrupted their thoughts, "We can figure the rest out in the car, or whatever. I guess you should just be ready by, maybe, 6-ish?"

Michael nodded, acting as normal as possible, "Sounds good to us!" he speaks. Luke, playing along with Michael act, smiled and nodded along, and thankfully didn't add onto anything. Soon after the conversation ended, Calum and Ashton left the room, and Michael fell back on his bed with a groan. Though Luke, on the other hand, sighed of relief as his skin immediately turned back to its original blue, which feels much better than having to fake human-skin. He was smiling when he looked to Michael, whom had his head in his hands, like he was trying to go into his own little world.

Luke frowned to himself, growing worried about why Michael was doing this. Is he upset, or something? Luke doesn't want Michael sad, because Michael is too pretty to be upset. Wait...could it be  _Luke_  that made Michael upset? Oh no, he would have never wanted to make the other boy distressed; at least, not intentionally, that is. What is it was actually him that did this to Michael? He gulped quietly, hoping that he would snap out of whatever his thinking so Luke would know he's okay (and that this isn't his fault).

Cautiously, Luke wandered over to Michael's bed, and slowly sat down next to the other boy. Michael could feel the small dip in the bed as Luke sat, and he would've acknowledged him, but he simply had no idea what to say. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, honestly; confused, maybe? Or, maybe he was just stressing himself out? Michael didn't know, but right now, it felt as if his had to much responsibility resting on his shoulders. If anything, he could just be overthinking this entire ordeal and should sit back and take a deep breath. But, just knowing that the theater will be full of people worries him.

Luke was sitting indian-style as he watched the other boy's movements, wondering what he could have been thinking. He was hoping Michael wasn't upset with him, but he wasn't sure of how to ask. He wanted to put it as nicely and normal as possible, but Luke felt worried that even speaking could make things worse. Should he just leave Michael alone? It seems like that would be his best option for the time being, thought he really doesn't want to leave Michael. To be honest, Luke really enjoys being with Michael; Michael was the first earthling he had ever came in contact with, and for him to accept Luke so kindly was almost unreal.

He waited a few moments, before asking him quietly, "Luke upset Michael?" He paused, waiting to see a reaction from the other. He didn't pay attention, it seemed, so Luke decided to continue with what he was saying, "Luke didn't mean to, Luke don't know why Michael upset," he was so quiet Michael could barely hear him, and he could hear the distinguishable sound of worry in Luke's small voice. Michael sighed, sitting up from his position and removing his hands form his face. Luke was watching him with widened, bright eyes, waiting to see what he'll do next.

Michael told Luke, almost as quietly as the other boy, "I'm not upset, Luke. You didn't do anything wrong...I guess I'm just overthinking things? I do this a lot, and it's really not that big of a deal. At least, nothing you should get upset over," Michael explained, eyes locking with Luke's briefly. As of now, the two boys were facing each other, letting the silence overtake them as they were both too overwhelmed with thoughts to say anything more. And, in a way, it almost seemed to be peaceful.

They spent minutes in silence, neither wanting to break the silence that was building around them. Though, Luke did eventually break it, knowing he couldn't keep his mouth shut much longer. Plus, even though Michael had already told him that he wasn't mad, nor upset with him, Luke still had the feeling that Michael wasn't being fully honest. If anything, Luke thought Michael was sparing his feelings, or something, thought he hoped Michael wasn't doing that. Really, Luke was probably being a bit paranoid, but he couldn't help it.

He sighed, watching Michael then pull out his tiny light-box (commonly known as a phone). He couldn't see what Michael was doing, but it looked like he was on the picture-heart, which Michael tried to tell him the day before was called an 'Instagram.' Luke frowned, as Michael attention went away from him and onto his phone. He watched as Michael scrolled through the pictures, liking a few of them here and there, but absentmindedly forgetting Luke was even next to him...or, at least, thats what Luke felt like.

So, Luke decided to speak to Michael, hoping to get the boy's nose out of his phone so it wouldn't be so quiet, "Luke feel bad, Michael really not mad?" he asks, looking up at Michael with worried eyes. Michael closes his phone, shaking his head lightly with a small smile on his face. When seeing Michael was back to being happy, Luke began to perk up, because one of the goals in this was to see his Michael happy again. Like he has mentioned many times before, Michael should never be sad, because he's too wonderful.

"Why do you feel bad? Listen, if something was wrong, I'd tell you, okay?" Michael paused, watching Luke nod his head along with what he was saying. He laughed silently, continuing on with what's being said, "Though, I do wish you wouldn't have agreed for the movies. But, I guess we can figure it out? I was just worried about you being around so many more humans, that someone might notice something being a bit... _different_  about you," he explained, trying to put his word as nicely as possible so he wouldn't hurt Luke's feelings, or something.

Luke eyebrows furrowed at what Michael as saying, because he didn't understand what was so important about this. Why does it matter if other humans see him? He survived Michael's friends okay, so he feels like adding a few more people in the fix wouldn't be a very big deal. And, now he even knows how to change his skin color, which is a bit tiring to do for long around of time, but is great to help hide his actual identity. The only part Luke could see Michael being anxious about would be Luke's speaking, because his isn't very good with English quite yet, and that's a very obvious trait he should know if he's a 'human.'

His head was slight tilted in confusion, "Movies not fun?" 

Michael shook his head, trying to explain to Luke about what is his worry for the night, "No, no, no, movies are great! Like I said, I'm worried that something could go wrong, and everyone would find out you aren't from here. Luke, you'd get taken away from me, and these really smart scientists would have to do tests on you, then the secret of your planet containing life would get out to the Earth..." he found his words beginning to fade off, so Michael put himself hack onto the right track of things, "And, another thing, the theater is really dark, an-"

" _Dark?_ " Luke asks, his eyes widening as his voice broke. Luke ran one of his blue hands through his hair, felling anxious just thinking about it. Being in a dark room, full of humans he doesn't know; Luke wouldn't be able to handle himself in there, let alone be in there for hours. "No, no, no, no, no dark. Luke hate dark, dark bad," he could feel his breath start to get uneven, as he looked to Michael for help. He noticed how Michael was watching him with worried eyes, but it looked as if the boy didn't know what he should do. 

Michael tried to say something to calm him down, but Luke was already speaking before he could, "No, Michael, no dark! Dark, bad people," Michael eyebrows furrowed when hearing what Luke was saying, as this is one of the few times he's heard about this 'bad people,' and he would really love for Luke to explain what they are. The last time Luke mentioned it was after he passed out, and he was really shaken up from that, hell, Michael was really shaken up from that. If anything, these said 'bad people' seem pretty fucking scary and Michael isn't completely sure if he actually want to know about them.

"Luke, what are the bad people? What did they do to you?" Michael asked quietly, his hand laying on Luke's arm and gently moving in small, circular motions to try and comfort. He noticed the boy begin to shut down; he was beginning to move away from Michael's touch, a look of fear showing on his face. Michael wasn't sure what to do, since he has no experience in this department, other than when this happened to Luke the night before. But, he knew that he couldn't leave Luke helpless, so he scooted closer, and tried to make sure Luke knew he was save.

Luke shook his head, "No tell...bad people hurt Luke," he spoke quietly, looking down and avoiding eye-contact with Michael. And, it was this moment Michael stared to figure things out. It wasn't that Luke didn't want to talk about it, it was that he  _can't_  talk about it! He isn't allowed to speak about the bad people, because they threatened to hurt him--and from what Michael can tell, they have done this before. 

He isn't sure what they have done to Luke, and he would really like to ask and dig deeper, but it would be best to not push the alien over his limits. If Luke isn't comfortable telling--or, to be more precise, isn't allowed to tell--then Michael should respect that and let it go, no matter how much he is wanting to hear about it. But, hopefully Michael could get it out of him one of these days, if Luke would break the rules and tell. Though, he doesn't seem like much of a rule-breaker, and from what he has heard about these people, Michael doesn't judge him for that.

Luke was still trembling when Michael phone 'dinged'. Michael eyebrows furrowed slightly, grabbing his phone from off the blanket and leaning back against his pillows. Luke--who was still shaking slightly, though the fear was starting to wind down--curiously moved up the bed until his was plastering himself against Michael's side. His body cuddling into Michael, half because of fear and the other just to be close to him, with his head laying comfortably against his chest. Michael snickered to himself, clicking on the alert and watching his phone pull up an article.

There seemed to be a missing person somewhere in a fifty-mile-radius from where they were, and the police were asking for everyone to be on the lookout. His expression went from curious to slightly-worried as he scrolled down to read more about it. It was for a girl named Bryana, but the police hadn't figured out her last name. It said there was a picture at the bottom, so Michael scrolled until he reached the bottom of the page. Like it had said, at the bottom of the page was the picture of a pretty blonde girl, and Michael took a mental note of her appearance encase he were to see her, or something.

But, thats when he hear the faint whisper from Luke, saying something he couldn't quite understand, " _Bryxlisse_." He moved himself from off Michael chest, gently removing the phone from Michael's hands and examining the picture with said eyes. Michael was confused as he watched the boy, wondering why this had such an effect over him. He looked to be astonished by seeing the picture, and it almost seemed like Luke actually knew this person, though that would have to be impossible. 

Luke couldn't have know her, because he's from outer space, for god's sake! Maybe, Michael should let Luke explain why this is taking such a toll on him, instead of having Michael try to guess all of the answers. So, Michael asked the boy, "Luke, do you know this person?" in hopes he would get an answer. Luke acted to be in his own little world, as he stared at the phone for what felt like minutes as Michael waited patiently for an answer. But, it seemed Luke wasn't going to answer, which caused Michael to begin to repeat his question. Though, before he had the chance, it seemed Luke came out of his trance.

Luke looked up from the phone, locking eyes with Michael immediately as he uttered out one word,  _"Friend."_

And if Michael thought things were weird now, then they definitely got quite a bit stranger.

 


	5. promises are meant to be broken

Luke couldn't believe it when he saw the picture. After everything he was told about Bryxlisse--though, it seems she has been renamed to Bryana instead--she was on Earth the entire time. He spent so much time worrying about her wellbeing, wondering if she was safe somewhere, whilst she had fled just like what he planned to do. Except, the moment Luke came seemed to be the moment she had to go. After everything he was worried about, he could have came just a week earlier and found her, yet now she's gone.

It was almost like Luke's mind had completely shut down once seeing his old friend. He was still in a faze of shock when Michael started calling his name, which could explain why he never heard the boy. He looked to meet Michael's eyes, his own filled with worry and confusion, and Michael didn't know what to do. Fuck, Michael didn't even understand what was happening, let alone what to say that could make Luke, 'feel better.' If anything, it should probably  _Luke_ explaining this to  _Michael_ , since he is still very much in the dark about this.

If he was being honest himself, Luke didn't even understand what was going on. From what he was being told for months, his one friend was gone. They were telling him Bryana died, not that she escaped by coming to Earth! Though...now that Luke thinks about it, he kind of understand why they would lie to him. Both he and Bryana were taken by the bad people at one point, which is how they became so close. But one day, she vanished without a final word, leaving Luke heartbroken and for him to continuously be told she was dead. Yet now, it's like he finally is starting to get why.

The bad people said she died because they wouldn't tell Luke where she really went. Because, if Luke knew where Bryana had really gone off to, he would try to escape himself, which would leave them without both of their  _patients_. Luke does wish she would have told him before leaving, because it would have saved him from so much pain and torture from everyone. He doesn't want to continue thinking back to the bad times, but now that he has started, it feels like all of his memories are overwhelming him to the point where he can't escape his own thoughts.

Each day whilst being in the possession of the  _bad people_ , Luke and whomever else was with him would experience these daily tests. They would hook these weird machines up to Luke's brain, and somehow completely aches his mind as long as they can (without killing the poor alien, of course). But, the day Bryana left, it seemed like they took the machine and turned it up a notch. Everything they were doing before was the same, except the pain level was so, so much worse; it was so excruciating that sometimes Luke was scared he wouldn't wake up from it.

Michael noticed the shift in Luke's emotions quickly; he saw the slight change in Luke's features, and from then, he knew he had to get Luke mind onto something different. If anything, he needed to change the subject long enough to get Luke on a different mindset. So, his first try was just calling out, hoping that this time Luke would actually answer. "Hey, Luke? You're starting to worry me, are you okay?" And, for a second, Luke looked up and met with Michael's eyes, but it was brief.

He could tell Luke looked rather pale (well, as pale as a blue person can be). Was he feeling light headed? Michael knew that something was wrong from the moment Luke read the article, and he is hoping that Luke doesn't end up fainting again. Shit, what if he  _does_  faint again? Michael still isn't completely sure of how to wake him up from it, and judging by how much his mind was hurting last time, he knows that Luke can't be left like that. But, the good thing is that Calum and Ashton could now help him wake Luke up, since they think the boys are 'dating.' 

Michael shook those thoughts from his head, before trying his second idea. He gently placed a hand on Luke's arm, taking the boys attention for a mere second. He took this time to his advantage, and speaks softly, "Luke, look at me. You need to calm down, okay? I'm worried you may pass out again, and I can't have that happening to you. Just breath along with me, okay, just do as I do." Luke's eyes were wide and watery, but he nodded along to what Michael was saying.

Michael then began to breath in and out slowly, taking deep breaths and watching Luke try to copy his actions. Luke didn't know how to explain the way he began to feel, but it was like his body was going numb and his vision was going out. Little black dots were colored across his sight as he looked Michael weakly, feeling it grow harder to keep himself awake. As time went on, Luke found himself growing more and more tired, until he finally gave up and let himself go to sleep. His eyes closed tightly as he then went into a deep sleep, leaving Michael scared half to death.

In Michael's view, he watched as Luke's eyes rolled back whilst the boy fell back onto his bed. He cursed to himself, moving to be by Luke's side and examine over what had happened, and like he had expected, Luke had fainted yet again. His features had softened, and he strangely looked peaceful, but judging from how the events of last night went, Michael knew this wasn't going to last long. Michael isn't sure of the things that happen when he's out cold, but he is starting to believe Luke's mind starts hurting itself, which causes him to wake up almost hysterical. But, the only thing Michael is worried about now is how he will wake the boy up.

As Michael ran to go get the things he used last night, Luke found himself waking up in a pitch-black yet familiar area. He was sitting down in what feel like water, but when he brought a hand up to his mouth, it tasted bitter and salty. He shuddered a bit, feeling an eery chill creep on the back of his neck as  he looked around in hope of someone coming to find him. He stood up, looking around his surroundings to find anything, but the darkness was making it much harder. God, Luke felt helpless.

He started to walk around, wondering if this would be a good idea to do or not. The funny thing is that, Luke's too scared to wander around the area, but is even more terrified to stay in one place. It felt like he was walking aimlessly into pure darkness--which  _was_  kind of what he was doing--and that this entire journey was beginning to feel pointless. If anything, he wanted to wake up before things go bad, like what happened to him last night. He misses Michael already. He wants to feel safe again, to  _be_ safe again, in Michael's room. 

He was going to turn back and wait for the torture to happen, but then he heard a voice. It was faint, and sounded far away, but Luke knew it was familiar. His pace sped up, and the only sound now filling the silence was one the water splashing around his feet. He could hear the same thing in the distance happening in the distance, and hoping that the person was looking for his as well. But then, he saw her.  _Bryana_. She was here, he can see her. Luke didn't know what to even think, because moments before she was missing, and he had assumed she was gone forever. Yet now, she's standing in front of him.

She walked closer to him, and for a second, Luke thought she was just as shocked as him. Like she was in a state of amazement, almost in denial of humbling here. God, Luke couldn't imagine what she was told for her to look this surprised, but it couldn't have been worse then him believing she was dead. It's crazy to think so much time spent mourning could have been saved if he'd known she just came to Earth, having the same plan as him. If anything, he could have tried looking for her instead of chasing a random location on the map. 

But, then he wouldn't have met Michael.

Believe it or not, this actually brought a smile to Luke's face. It was weird that Luke could be in a place like the, yet the thought of Michael can still make him happy. He didn't even know how lucky it was to be sent to Michael, because any other person in their right mind would have sent him somewhere, or to the government. Well, anyone else would have sent him away, except Michael didn't do that at all! Michael actually took Luke in, and is trying ti help him fit in around all the other humans so that he wouldn't stand out. It seems like he was lucky to have been sent with someone so accepting over the fact he comes from another planet.

Bryana took Luke attention quickly as she lightly tapped him on the shoulder. Luke looked back over to the blonde girl, watching her face scrunch in confusion, like she was trying to figure out the words to say. She was never as good at Luke in learning the human-languages, which doesn't give her much, since Luke isn't very good himself. But, she did mutter out a few words that made sense, "M-Me, Bryana." She tapped her chest as she spoke, like she could have been telling it to herself as well. She resembled how Luke reacted when receiving his name from Michael the night he came.

Luke placed a hand on his own chest, reply to her with, "Me, Luke."

Then, the next thing that happened was well-worth the wait; the two friends hugged. After ages of not knowing the other's fate, finally being here, alive and okay seemed like the perfect time. From two people who have faced so much coldness in their lives, at this time it felt like they were finally finding warmth; and, really, that's one thing Luke wants to have in life. Yet, something about this still left him feeling empty, like something was still missing. And, Luke can probably guess what's so different about this...Bryana isn't his Michael.

They had pulled away from each other, and for a moment, everything seemed to be alright. For the first time in forever, Luke felt like things were finally going to get better. Maybe,  he could even bring Bryana back to Michael's house, and they could all live happily together! Honestly, Luke believes that this moment could be the start to something much, much better than all they went through--though, anything could be better than everything the bad people have done to them, all of the torture put onto them.

Luke had opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any words out, he noticed something coming from Bryana's torso. It was a deep red liquid, and before he knew it, his friend had feel to the ground with a small scream of pain. Luke's eyes widened as he dropped to his knees next to her, his mind going blank as to what he's supposed to do. He doesn't even know what happened, let alone how he's supposed to help treat it! All Luke knows is that Bryana is in what looks to be intense pain, and there is no way for him to help her. 

Everything was going so well just moment ago, yet now everything has taken a turn for the worst. He was holding her hand, which seemed like the only thing he was really able to do as he watched her face scrunch in agony. Seeing his friend like this really broke Luke's heart, and he felt his eyes well up unwillingly. He sat down in wet substance that filled the dark area, as he watched Bryana start slowly fading away from consciousness. Luke's emotions went on overload as he saw this, muttering the words, 'no, no, no, no,' over and over, like this would help him in some way. 

But then, he watched her take the last breath, as her hand lost the grip on Luke's and fell down to her side, the water splashing up around it. Luke felt his tears begin to dampen his cheeks, and at first, he didn't even realize he was crying. This all happened so quickly that it's hard for Luke to wrap his mind around; the second he gets his friend back, she gets taken away from him. He didn't even know what had hurt her so quickly, but there was an idea of what could have done it. And though he didn't want to believe she was actually gone, Luke knew it was true.

The familiar cool air began to sweep through the darkness, and it's reminding Luke of everything that happened in his last time being here. The loud, high-pitched noise ringing through his ears, as a meaning of punishment and demeanor for not agree to come back and be tortured more. Luke shuddered at the unwanted reminders of the time before, trying to get the thoughts out of his mind before things get even worse than they already have. He shivered slightly, rubbing a hand over his bare arms and holding Michael's shirt tighter to his body.

But suddenly, things felt much more tense. He was having the strange feeling throughout his body, like there could have been someone else here, and someone could have been watching him. He looked around briefly, eyes leaving Bryana to scan the area to see if his intuition was right. Though, no one else was around, which let him a bit calmer than before. But, the he looked back down to his friend, she was no longer there! It was as if she had vanished out of thin air, because her body was no longer laying down beside Luke, and he knows she couldn't have moved herself anywhere.

There is only one way all of this could make sense, and it sickens Luke to think it could be happening again. The bad people have found him again, and now they have taken Bryana away. "No, no, no," he whispered over and over to himself, hugging his knees to his chest and anticipating when something was going to happen. He had curled himself tightly into a ball, and just waited for the torture to come, because he could already feel the bad people watching him. There's a certain feeling that develops in Luke's chest whenever he knows they are around, and at this moment, his chest is pounding with that same thing.

That's when the voice boomed in his head, so loud he could feel his ears begin to ring. He knew from the voice it was him, and when he began to speak Luke's language, Luke knew something bad is going to happen. "Here so soon, Lurtxlyn? It seems you couldn't even go an Earth-day without returning to us, I'm sure you're thrilled to be back with us, aren't you?" the voices teases cruelly, and Luke feels himself tremble with fear of the person behind the voice. He has to get this out of his head, or else he'll end up worse than the last time.

He must try to clear these thoughts from his head, or do anything to take away the bad people. They have already done enough, why can't they just leave him alone? Luke isn't sure if he could take anything else from them, considering they have already killed his best friend just minutes before now. Seriously, why can't they just give him a break? He is never going to come back, no matter what they do or say to him, it will never happen. He likes it on earth, and he enjoys being with the humans--one human in particular, if he might add.

Luke wants to say something, but he's scared to find out what would happen if he does. He wants to be brave, but sometimes that comes at quite a large cost. Then again, he was always thought to be as brave as he can, and to always face his fears at whatever cost. So, Luke takes a deep breath, and says quietly, "L-Leave Luke alone, Luke not coming back." And, though he felt terrified while doing it, he did feel a relief whilst knowing  he did what's right. 

He waited in the quiet, growing inpatient as he listened to the sounds of the water splashing as he moved his hand. It was freezing. He was beginning to feel his bare arms and legs go numb as he was sitting in the water, and tried to rub them to make any kind of warmth; it didn't work. This place seems to be Luke's biggest nightmare, a place of darkness, and one that's very cold. Minutes passed, and there was still silence, so much that Luke was beginning to think the bad people actually did leave him, like they had finally done something... _good_.

But, he was very, very wrong.

Coming into his mind was a sharp pain, one far worse that the ear-piecing noises from last time. Luke let out a small sound of pain, holding his head in his hands and clutching in tightly. This is probably one of the worst feelings he's ever experienced, fuck, this could have been considered torture! It lasted around thirty seconds, but from how Luke was feeling, it could have been an hour. It had stopped after that, leaving Luke panting with watery eyes and shaky hands. He felt like he couldn't concentrate on anything, like his mind had stopped working due to the pain, which was probably exactly what the people were going for.

"You know not to speak towards us like this, you know how it effects us, Lurtxlyn! Just because you have gone to Earth does not mean you are able to have their attitudes...haven't we taught you anything!" The angry voice returned, and Luke sniffles as he listened, wishing the pain would end so he could return home, to Michael. That's all he actually cares about, really; they can hurt Luke as much as they want, but they can never get to Michael, and that's the only way they could truly hurt him. If Michael is hurting, Luke can almost feel his pain.

He assumed they didn't know about Michael, like he was just Luke's little secret, or something. But, he should have guessed that the bad people could have figured it out, shit, they figure  _everything_  out. It feels like whatever Luke thinks of, or whatever goes through this mind, they will always find out. It could be the simplest things, or even taking things to an extreme, no matter what it is, they will always know. God, it's like they are always in his head! No matter how far away he is from the planet, he can never seem to escape the bad people. 

Everything turned silent. Luke felt like he could hear a pin drop because it was so quiet, so much that he wasn't sure what he needed to do. He waited for the pain to come back; he was already holding his head, anticipating when the next sudden jolt of their pain begins again. Yet, it never came. He heard the voice come back, only this time, his tone was more cruel than before, "Maybe, hurting you is what's getting us nowhere. Maybe, we might have to take a rather...different approach. What do you say about that Luke? Who will we need to hurt to get you back?"

Luke eyes widened, and by sudden fear, Michael was the first to come into his head. He quickly thought of something else, praying that the people didn't receive the information about the one Earthling he actually cares about. Except, it was too late. They have his name, his face, and now they can find him. Oh no, Luke didn't mean to cause this, and now he just started something very bad to come Michael's way. He can't let this happen, this can't pass by him and hurt his friend. They already took Bryana, and they can't take Michael too.

He can hear the person moving, like fingers were tapping against something. Things felt tense. The man's voice continued, and Luke shuttered when hearing the cold tone, "Well, I see you have found someone from Earth to care for, someone you are willing to protect. I must tell you, Lurtxlyn, I would have never thought of this coming from you. I thought you would have known not to do something so stupid. But, I guess this actually helps; instead of hurting you, we can take it out on that little friend of your."

Luke gulped, shaking his head at the thought of them ever getting to Michael. He could never let this happen, and he will do anything can he to make sure it doesn't. But, Luke isn't strong enough to face the bad people,  no matter how hard he might try, it would be no use in the end. God, they are basically unstoppable; Luke knows of people that have tried in his lifetime, or even before his lifetime, and none of them were ever heard from afterwards. He really doesn't want that to happen with him, but he also doesn't want them doing anything to his friend.

"N-Never coming back, Luke stay on Earth," He spoke quietly, finding the courage to actually speak his mind and do what he feels is right. He untangles himself from his legs, and unwraps the ball he formed with his body. His confidence started to rise, and second by second Luke started to feel less and less intimidated. When you mess with his friends, he won't take that as easy. He continued on with what he was saying, "Hurt Luke, not hurt Michael. Luke not let you hurt Michael!"

He heard the voice snicker, "You won't  _let_  us hurt Michael? Oh, dear and clueless Lurtxlyn, we could torture the poor human right now, if we wanted. Really, we could kill him, and no one would even know; turn his brain into mush and erase him from everyone's memories. And, if you don't cooperate, that will be the outcome of what Michael Clifford's life becomes. Is that what you want to happen? Do you want us to kill another one of your friends just to get you back? Because we will do whatever it take."

It felt good to be strong for that brief period, but Luke can feel his fears start to come back over himself when hearing those words. Could they really kill Michael and have no one even realize? He feels like that might be an over exaggeration, but at this point, he isn't very sure.Though, he could believe them having the ability to do something like this. He sighed, debating on whether he should return back. Luke fears the place, and all of his memories there can take him into dark, depressing, and panicked time, but he also can't let them take another person out of his life. They have already killed so many, Luke couldn't watch them do it again.

He opened his mouth to answer, but felt the words were unable to come out. It was like they were on the tip of his tongue, just waiting to be said, yet he could get it out. A frustrated sound was heard, and then he hears he bad people say angrily, "Since we were unable to get inside Michael's head this time, I guess we will have to settle in torturing you." 

And after this, and pain comes back. Only this time, it was so much worse.

Michael had been much more calm this time, and he waited for Luke to wake up. He had already placed a warm rag on his forehead, and held the blue hand in his own as wondered what could have been happening his Luke's head. By Luke's facial expression, it seemed like things weren't going good, and that was worrying him. But, Michael can't help but continue wondering just what these bad people actually were? The logical answer would be figments of Luke's imagination, but in this situation, nothing will ever be the logical answer.

He sighed, and was just really wishing for Luke to wake up. The last time this happened, Luke went hysterical, and Michael doesn't want that to happen again. His was lazily moving his fingers up and down Luke's arm softly, in a relaxing motion, like Luke was actually able to feel it in his subconscious faze. But then, a slight squeeze was felt on Michael's hand, causing the boy's eyes to widen. Michael almost didn't even notice it, but thankfully he did. He watched as Luke body began to move, and waited for the pretty blue eyes to show themselves. 

Luke's eyes fluttered open gently, and then he sat up with an abrupt gasp. He was  taking quick breaths, and Michael had to place his hands onto Luke's shoulder's just to get his attention. "He, hey, hey, Luke look at me! You're fine now, baby, everything's fine now." His words were calm, as he was trying to keep Luke with him instead of gazing out again. Luke looked to be in a daze, and when Michael saw his tear-stained cheeks, he felt his heart shatter. He didn't know what all Luke just went through, but by the looks of his scared being, it had to have been bad.

Then, he heard Luke faint voice speak, "M-Michael?" And, at first, things had gone quiet after this, but then everything happened so quickly that Michael wasn't even sure if what happened. Luke was on Michael's lap, his head laying in the crook of Michael's neck as he started to cry. Michael's eyebrows furrowed, suddenly becoming clueless of what needs to be done to help console Luke. He wrapped his arms around the boy awkwardly, not feeling very confident in the action, but willing to do whatever he can for Luke.

But, then Luke's words spilled out, like he couldn't stop himself from telling Michael everything that had happened, "Bad people, h-hurt Luke. Dark, a-and cold, Bryana  _gone_!" A sob came from his mouth, and Luke frequently tried wiping his damp cheeks to get the tears to stop coming. Michael noticed this, so he carefully pulled Luke away, so the boy was sitting on his lap, and gently wiped them with his thumb. Luke pale blue skin was stained with tear streaks, and he tried to mutter out the last of his words, "People hurt Michael, try get Luke back."

Michael eyebrows furrowed, wondering what Luke meant by 'people hurt Michael.' Has Luke's imagination gone wild, or is he fearing someone might actually come to hurt him? Michael wasn't going to believe it, because it just seems much to outrageous to be true; plus, he still doesn't even have proof that the so-called bad people are actually real. If anything, this could all just be too much for Michael to handle--which, frankly, seems pretty accurate whilst considering everything going on. But, if this is actually happening, shouldn't Michael feel scared? Because, right now, all he wants to do is keep Luke safe.

He puts a smile on his face, one that will make Luke feel less worried and more comfortable, and says, "Luke, I'm fine. No one is going to hurt me--you or me-- _us_  anytime soon, okay? I promise."

It seems that some promises are meant to be broken...

 


	6. you're the thing that i can't quit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains some smut, so please skip to chapter seven if these situations make you uncomfortable :)

An hour has passed, and Luke finally began to calm down.

He and Michael and switched positions to something much more comfortable, and we're now laying on their backs, Michael holding Luke in his arms. Things felt peaceful, almost like it was the calm after a storm. His eyes were still red, and it was obvious he had been upset, but Michael was only happy he had finally calmed down. There was still an obvious sad look Luke was sporting, and it was also obvious he wasn't fully-better, but for now, he was okay. Though, a few sniffles were heard every so often, Michael did try little things to make him feel better.

Knowing what happens inside Luke's head seems to always be a mystery for Michael. He has asked him what happens, but Luke is always too upset to describe it. Or, if not that, whenever he tries to talk about what happens, he can only mutter a few words before he begins to panic. And, it's like this is their cycle; like this is a circle Michael always finds them running, which started only yesterday, but has began to be the only thing that is on his mind. He doesn't even know what to think about the information Luke has already told him, honestly. Bad people in a dark, cold place? It makes no sense, especially since his body doesn't even leave, and that it's only his mind.

He didn't realize just how deep in thought he was until hearing Luke say something quietly, which brought him out of his daze. "M-Michael?" his voice was soft, and he still sounded scared, but hearing the boy begin to speak after an hour of silence made Michael perk up as he waited for him to continue, "Luke cold, Michael." Michael looked at him with a little smile, but it started to fade when feeling Luke begin to turn away, like he was hiding from the other. This caused Michael to frown, but he tried to shake it off as he went to go fetch a blanket or something to keep Luke warm.

When he returned after sneaking one of Ashton's fluffy blankets out of his room, he noticed something about Luke just seemed so...off. He wasn't acting like himself at all, and it was quite obvious to Michael. The moment he mentioned the  _"bad people"_  hurting Michael, it seems like Luke's entire being just shut down. And, that made Michael start to feel a bit strange, as well; could Luke be telling the truth, and is there really people out there who may hurt him? It sounds crazy to even think about, almost so crazy that Michael should know it isn't true, yet there's just something about it that is making him feel worried.

Though, Michael would never show his worry, because he knows it would only make Luke feel even worse. And, right now, he is only trying to get things back to normal--well, as normal as it can be whilst there's an alien living inside of his apartment--and for that, Luke needs to recover from whatever he just experienced. 

So, Michael can not let him know about the way he's feeling...and, he's feeling differently about many things at this moment. Something in his mind is starting to grow attached to his alien friend, and that could end up quite bad for the both of them. But, he was unable to help these types of feelings after to develop, as they just started coming since the moment Luke arrived, and have grown ever since. This is only the second day of him being here, as well; god, Michael doesn't even want to imagine how he will act when knowing Luke two  _weeks_ , or even two  _months_. By that point, who knows, Michael could end up in love, or something.

He laid out the blanket onto Luke's body, silently wondering what he needs to do to help the poor thing. As of now, Michael is clueless about everything, and the top one is basically Luke's entire existence. He placed a hand of Luke's bare shoulder, expecting himself to subconsciously start rubbing his arm, but quickly removed it when feeling his body's temperature. Luke felt like  _ice_ ; he felt so cold that it was no wonder why he's always freezing. And now, Michael finally let himself be scared, because Luke hasn't done this before, and this is almost as weird as when he passes out. 

"Luke," Michael began calmly, trying to get the other's attention. When Luke didn't do anything to show he was listening, Michael gently turned the other boy over, so that they were face-to-face. Well, he was alive, which is the good part. But, Michael did take note that he just seemed so dead to the world--like he was trying to distance himself from everything he was once enjoying. He continued speaking to the silent Uranian, "um, Luke, why do you feel so cold? Like, yes, you do seem to be a little colder than most humans are, but this is an abnormal temperate for you."

Luke didn't give an answer. Michael wanted to say he had expected that, like he knew he other would stay silent, but that would have been a lie. He thought that Luke would have tried to explain something, at least to the best of his abilities, so having him say nothing really fucking sucked. So now, Michael guessed he should probably just figure it out himself, which will probably be hard, but he can do it. Though, he won't be able to use the internet, since he couldn't really say _'how to raise an alien's temperature'_ and find an actual answer. So, starting from scratch seems to be his plan, which might not be as bad as he thought? 

Well, if a blanket doesn't work, what else could he try? What if he tried, like, something to drink? Wait, that wouldn't work, because Calum has already drank all of their hot chocolate, which is the same with Ashton for the coffee (to which both of those were bought by Michael, and he did not give them permission drink. douche bags). So, if that plans out, what is Michael supposed to try? He doesn't really know of anything else that might have that effect. Plus, he doesn't even know of Luke will respond to him, let alone let Michael experiment these types of ideas with him.

Then, Michael felt like he had a moment of brilliance occur in his life. He had finally had a plan, and it seems like this one might actually work the way he needs. When Michael was younger, his mother had always put him into a cold bath or shower whenever ever he had a fever, since it would make it go down. So, if Luke's temperature is below average, maybe a  _hot_  shower would bring it back up? It's perfect! Except, now the only struggle is how he will get Luke out of bed long enough to put him into a shower, but Michael feels like he could probably do it. He knows that eventually, Luke is going to acknowledge him again, and things will be back to how they were.

So, Michael began by placing a hand on Luke's cool cheek, and he finally saw a pair of blue eyes shine into his. A feeling of relief came over Michael, and a sense of hope came soon after, as he was finally starting to have hope that his plan would work. Luke still looked distressed about something, but Michael figured that he will be better by the time for the movies tonight; especially since it's, like, five now, which gives both of them plenty of time to 'get ready'. Or, basically for Michael to get himself ready and then try and figure out how to get Luke ready for this as well.

"Okay, Lukey, you're going to have to do what I say for a few seconds, alright? C'mon, I think I know something that might make you feel better," Michael spoke softly, calmly for the other boy. His mannerisms completely change when around Luke; when it's only him, Calum, and Ashton, Michael is normally sarcastic and making dirty comments. But, when with Luke, Michael acts so much more mature, and he's always so gentle with the other; it's like he turns into a different person. After seeing Luke wouldn't get out of bed to go inside Michael bathroom, he sighed, but continued to try and talk the other into it, "Luke, please, just come with me for a second, okay?"

And finally, for the first time in almost two hours, Michael finally got Luke to do something for him. A sigh of relief came out of Michael, silently, but knowing this still isn't the same aches him. But, he isn't going to think about that right now, because he is really believing that this plan will work; it seems quite full-proof in his mind, which is what really counts for it to work. So, as both of the boys finally get up from the bed, Michael began to hear Luke's teeth start chattering, and that's when he wanted to slap himself for putting the boy in a fucking  _tank-top_  instead of something much warmer.

Luke placed himself as close to Michael as he could get, not knowing what exactly was happening and was quite nervous to find out what exactly Michael has in store for him. Part of him didn't want for this plan to work, if he had to be honest; as much as Luke adores Michael, and the Earth, and not having to worry about things on this planet, he knows that his return to home will have to come soon. It's not the Luke wants to go back--because that is definitely the complete opposite--it's that Luke has to go back. If he doesn't return home, the bad people will hurt Michael, and he  can't let that happen.

Michael led the boy into a white room, and the first thing the alien noticed were how freezing the floor felt against his bare feet. He watched as Michael flipped a switch on the wall, and then all the lights magically appeared on (which he has already seen a few times, but it still amazes him on how that happens). Though, Luke didn't think much of it, because then he noticed something hanging in the wall that literally had himself on it! He slowly reached his hand out to touch it, but frowned when seeing he wasn't able to touch the other Luke from the wall, since something was blocking them from it.

Michael had his back turned to Luke for a few seconds, as he had turned on the water to let it begin heating, figuring that Luke probably like his water to be hot. But, when he turned around, a light laughter came as he watched Luke being so mesmerized by a mirror. His mouth was agape as he left fingerprints all over the glass, and Michael knew that he was wondering what this contraption could have been. So, with a bit of a laugh, Michael explained to him, "That's called a mirror, Luke. It shows your reflection, so you can know what you look like, and shit."

Luke whispered a silent, ' _wow_ ,' at the object, but found himself being dragged away from it before he was able to examine it any further than he already has--not that there was actually anything to examine, since it was literally a mirror. Michael had told him to raise up his arms, so with furrowed eyebrows, Luke timidly lifted them above his head. Then, his shirt was removed from his body in a swift motion, and Luke's first instinct was to hug himself as the cool air began to hit against his already-freezing form. He rubbed his arms slightly against the blue skin, but nothing helped to create the warmth he was needing so desperately.

But then, Luke watched Michael take a gulp, as his fingers dragged down to the waistband of the boxers Michael was letting him wear. A shiver went down Luke's spine, and a sudden sense of something Luke's never felt before started to wash over the boy. And, he noticed it was happening to Michael, too. Judging by the look on his face, he was feeling the same thing as Luke; anxiousness, yet arousal, which was leaving them both waiting for more to come. 

It was Michael who felt so strange during this, and it wasn't like this last time he had put Luke inside clothes. Something about this moment in time just felt so much more intimate, and more connected than last night. Michael and Luke actually know each other, and have spent non-spot time together during the past two days of Luke being on earth. And though that doesn't sound like much time together, it was plenty for Michael to struggle with these weird and quite unwanted feelings for the alien. And this leaves him confused, not knowing what he should do about these new feelings that have began to develop.

With shaky hands, Michael removed the last article of clothing from Luke's body. Then, he tried to stop his wandering eyes from looking up Luke's body, but it felt so hard to restrict himself. He was just so beautiful; his blue skin is something so intriguing, and how it contrasts with Luke's blonde hair makes Michael want to stare in awe. He could tell Luke was beginning to feel vulnerable like this, so out in the open, no longer having anything to hide over his body. Michael could have stopped this moment in time;everything feels so peaceful here, and for a few seconds, he forgot about everything that had been making him worried, and decided to focus on the person that makes his heart burst and his head spin.

And then, Luke was standing there, no longer having privacy as he waited, confused on what Michael was going to do next. You could feel the innocence radiating off of the boy, as he didn't understand any of the feelings that were developing, and had no idea of all the things Michael was thinking of right now; he had no idea about how Michael was confused about his own feelings, about how he wants to do something right now, but just doesn't know what, and about his wanting for something to happen in this moment, though he knows nothing can. And with that thought inside of his mind, Michael forced himself to turn away, so that he could walk out of the room and leave Luke be.

He told Luke to just step inside of the shower, so that he wouldn't continue freezing, and he had expected Luke to listen to him. What Michael didn't expect was for Luke to stand there, his eyes starting to widen as he realized Michael was trying to leave. He didn't want to be by himself anymore, and for the time being, Michael has been his protector. He already is facing a vulnerable feeling banging in his chest, and he wants for the other to stay and keep him safe from all the fears he has. So, Luke spoke up and said, "W-Wait! Michael no go. Luke not stay alone, please," in a small, nervous voice.

Michael turned back around hearing this, trying to figure out the nicest way possible to tell Luke he needs to leave. Because if Michael didn't leave, he doesn't know what might happen, and that could only make everything worse in the end. But then, when seeing Luke's face, and how he really does not want for Michael to go away, it almost makes Michael change his mind completely. but, he has to take those thoughts out of his mind, because he can't be thinking these things about someone like Luke. It would never be able to happen, all because he is never going to fit in with everyone else, no matter how hard Michael may try to help him.

Michael opened his mouth to reply, but he found himself staring down at a pair of bright blue eyes, and a pouting face. Then, he heard Luke mutter a soft, "Please, Michael?" which he really couldn't resist. So, he found himself pulling his shirt over his head with a small, ' _fuck it_ ,' escaping his lips, as he can feel the other's eyes on him, watching over him intensely. He removed his final article of clothing, and then they both stood there, bare, and facing one another with fear and excitement lining both of their eyes.

It was then Michael realized the water had been running this entire time, whilst everything was happening. So, it was him to make the first move to actually get inside of the shower, instead of standing in the middle of the bathroom, and trying to take in everything. Though, it did seem nice just looking over his Luke, admiring how beautiful he is, and imagining about things that he probably shouldn't be imagining. On that note, he gently grabbed on Luke's wrist, and directed the boy into the shower, swallowing down all his nerves and fears before stepping in behind him.

When they were both inside of the shower, Luke pushed Michael ahead of him, not knowing what this strange thing that is flowing water could be. He said, with a confused voice, "Michael, water coming from circle?" And, he heard Michael giggle at him, which wasn't fair, since he was only asking how this could happen. When Luke goes back to his planet, whenever that may be, he's going to have to tell them about all of these strange contraptions Earth has. Especially the cold-box, that one is his favorite.

Michael was going to explain it, but he had figured it might have been too much, and Luke still wouldn't have understood. So, Michael left it to be, and simply stepped underneath the hot water to get himself wet, not realizing the way Luke was watching him. The room had a different feeling than before, and both of the boys are able to tell. It had affected them both in different ways, the new feeling of a wanting for the other, just not knowing how to express it. They both wanted something to happen, but there was something holding them back; for Luke, his undeniable innocence, and for Michael, his fear of what may come.

Luke had stepped under the water when it really began to affect Michael. He had stepped back, just to look over the boy, and watch the sight in front of him play out. The water was falling on Luke, making his quiff begin to fall into his face. Everything felt like slow-motion, or something; Michael wasn't really sure, but he felt like admiring Luke could become a hobby in his life. Luke looked so perfect, and Michael tried not to focus Luke's hands that were innocently moving across his body, but could have been seen in a  _much_  different type of way. Like Michael might have been doing right now.

Fighting the urge to make a move is starting to become much harder than Michael was anticipating. He didn't expect for it to be this hard (no pun intended), nor did he expect this would be happening today. In all honesty, Michael half-expected Luke to not even take a shower before their movie, let alone be sharing one with himself. Everything that was leading up to this was already giving off vibes Michael wasn't asking for, and now it seems that his feelings were set off unintentionally. But, he could only blame himself for this; it's not Luke fault for being to attractive, Michael has to blame himself for creating this explicit thought to run through his brain.

It was then that Michael realized they had only just stepped inside, yet he was already struggling. Holy fuck. And now that the thinks about it, Luke most likely doesn't know what body wash is, so Michael might have to do that for him. He might have to rub the soapy-substance across his body, since the other doesn't understand how. Holy fuck, he definitely shouldn't have thought about that. He shouldn't  _still_  be think about that. He shouldn't be wanting to think about that, or about how good it would feel to touch the other's body in places that would only be done whilst doing certain activities--an activity like what they are doing right now, actually.

Now, Luke was looking up at him with his big blue eyes, most likely waiting on Michael to do whatever would happen next. He asked Michael quietly, "Only water, nothing else?" as his eyebrows furrowed and he had a cute-yet-confused expression on his face. So then, Michael realized it had to be done; he was going to have to do what he was just imagining. Is there a way he could do it without making this sexual? He hoped that there was, but Michael knew that probably was untrue. And that was one of the reasons Michael felt hesitant to continue on.

But, he did it anyway. He grabbed the bottle and put some of the liquid into his hand, and then with his free one, he pulled Luke closer to himself. They were so close that their chest almost touched, Michael could feel Luke's breath on his face. It felt like they were both waiting on something to happen, but not wanting to make the move themselves. He watched Luke gulp, and then Michael felt the familiar feelings of awkwardness come rushing through his veins, and he almost wanted to cure when feeling himself begin to tense up. In order to get the weirder part of this out of the way (though this is all quite weird), Michael placed the body was onto the other.

At first, it did start out innocent, like he had hoped for. All he did was place his hands onto Luke's shoulders, and the gently run them down his arms, and back up. He didn't make eye contact, because he was worried that would make this harder than it already is. But when his hands started to slide down Luke's back, he heard the boy take in a breath, just as Michael's hands rested right at the low of his back. That's when the entire mood changed; there was no more worry, or waiting, it was just Michael's eagerness and Luke's innocence that filled up the room. 

Michael backed Luke against the shower wall, their chest touching and their breaths swirling together. It took a few seconds to bring up the courage, but Michael did what the universe seemed to have been pushing them to do; he kissed Luke. They might having kissed a few times before, but those were all unlike the one being shared right now. Michael felt Luke's hands wrap around the back of his neck to bring the boy even closer, as if they could have gotten closer than they already were. 

They didn't have a moment for slow, as it had already escalated into hands roaming and lips parting, leaving them wondering why this didn't happen sooner. Michael trailed his lips down Luke's jawline, until reaching his neck. He began kissing on his neck, getting more into this overtime he heard Luke gasp, or make a sound. Hearing him enjoying this is what motivated Michael to go one, and forget about everything else. All he could think about was Luke, and really, thats all that he had  _wanted_  to think about.

He pulled away, briefly, wanting to see the newly placed marks he put across Luke's neck. He didn't expect them to show up much on his blue skin, but he did expect there to be something, at least. When seeing Luke looked exactly the same as before, it caused Michael to look at him in confusion. Though, the confusion left quickly when his eyes scrolled down Luke's body, seeing how he was already so breathless, with just the small amount of things they have done. Knowing Luke was so far gone kind of turned Michael on, like, a lot. Michael was really turned on.

He pecked Luke on the lips a few more times, before removing himself all together. They were both breathless, but still wanting more. Though, Michael felt his conscious begin to come back, little by little, helping him realize they didn't have much time left to stay inside of this shower. So, he grabbed the body wash again, only this time using it on himself, before washing it off underneath the faucet. Next, he grabbed his shampoo off the rack, and asked for Luke to get on his knees. He watched Luke's face scrunch in confusion, but the boy did what Michael said, and dropped to his knees in front of the other.

So, like the obvious thing would have been, Michael washed his hair. As simple as that. He tried his best to not think about Luke, on his knees, nor the little (or not so little) problem... _downstairs_. Fuck, Michael's mind was continuously screaming that this was a bad idea, but Michael couldn't help but want even more. But, he had to keep himself restrained, so those thought could be saved for later, when he has his own, private time. 

Though, Luke seemed to have different ideas. As he was sitting on the ground, he let one of his hands slowly trail up Michael's leg, until reaching his hipbone, then going back down to his thigh. In his mind, he was only tracing along Michael's body, he didn't think of this to be teasing, like to was in Michael's mind. But, he heard Michael take in a sharp breath when his fingers trailed along his his v-line line, then moving to the underside of his dick. Luke felt it twitch in his hand, so, now becoming quite intrigued, decided to put his focus on this.

His actions were gentle, and soft. All he was doing was running the tips of his fingers up and down, feeling Michael get harder with each little touch. He didn't even realize the effect he had on him until he heard a moan; he made Michael  _moan_. Do humans do this normally? Luke didn't understand, but a new feeling irrupted in the pit of his stomach, and hearing Michael only made him want to do this more. Except, he didn't really know what exactly he was doing, nor what to do to keep making Michael make those sounds.

It was almost like Michael was reading his mind, because just as the thought came in, Michael said, "F-Fuck, okay, Luke. You don't know how to do this, do you? Okay, just like rap you hand around it," Michael cut himself off with a gasp, as a hit of pleasure came when feeling Luke do just as he said, "J-ust like that, babe. Holy  _shit_ , Luke." Luke had began continuing what he was doing before, only now, his hand was wrapped around Michael, instead of just trailing along underneath. With ever stroke he could feel Michael getting more and more into this, and it made that word feeling start to become more prominent in Luke, as he began to feel that sane way Michael did.

He heard Michael say other words, but right now, he was too focused to stop and listen. He kept his hand moving back and forth, and got more and more excited each time he heard Michael make one of those sounds. He could feel the same feeling from the pit of his stomach began to get harder to control, and Luke could help it when a moan of his own escaped from his lips. He hasn't even acknowledged it happened until Michael mentioned, "Fuck, Luke, that sounded so hot. I-I think I-- _god_."

And the next thing Luke knew, Michael was moaning loudly, and a milky, white substance was converting his chest. He didn't even get time to wonder what it was before the water had washed it all away. Michael was panting, having one hand resting on the side of the shower wall, and the other being used to bring Luke up from the floor. They went back to lazily kissing after this, as Michael was coming down from his high, slowly but surely. His hands were roaming across Luke body, like before, and he had Luke's back pressed against the wall, loving all the little gasps Luke would let out when something feels good.

But then, Luke broke off the kiss with the desperate words, "Michael... _hurts_."

Without any context of what this might mean, Michael began to panic in fear that Luke could have been hurt. What could have even hurt him? Was all of this too much for him to handle? Looking up to his face, Michael noticed that Luke didn't look like he was in pain, but more like he was drowning in pleasure. Now, Michael was mentally wondering if Luke was only confused on whether he's hurting, or if he's just aroused. From what Michael can tell, it's definitely the latter; if he hadn't already came, Luke being like this would probably have made him hard again.

"Luke, babe, what do you mean? How are you hurt?" Michael asks, not only for his curiosity, but for knowing that it was all because Luke was turned on. And he did that to him. He made Luke feel like this, and is the only one who has made Luke feel like this; and, fuck, that feels nice to think about. No one else has seen Luke the way Michael has, or touched Luke in these ways to make him moan with pleasure. Just knowing all of this makes Michael's heart twist, in a way that he loves, yet can't have. But, in this moment, Michael is going to pretend that he can.

His hand runs from Luke's chest to his hip, his nails barely tickling the surface, making the alien shiver. He grabs at Luke's hips, and brings his body against the other's sharply. Luke tales in a breath at the sudden movement, waiting for whatever Michael is going to do next, in hopes to make his  _hurting_  go away. The funny feeling was still inside of his stomach, and every time Michael touched him, or did anything, Luke got even worse. It was like anticipation for something, something Luke hasn't experienced before. And this only made the boy even more excited.

Minus all of Michael's lustful thoughts and feelings, the boy was really nervous about this. He didn't want to over stimulate Luke, or make him go into some crazy alien-type coma. Though, he does know this is an extreme, the thoughts of this turning out bad still happen to linger inside of his mind, scared to make this situation even harder. But, seeing Luke become so gone for him makes Michael feel so... _fuck_. There's no way to describe the things Michael feels. He has to do something, not only for him, but to relieve Luke as well.

He didn't even notice he was hard again until feeling it pressed against Luke's. He hissed at the contact, and he could hear Luke make the prettiest sounds Michael's heard. If there was any way to keep these inside of his memory, Michael would have done it in a heartbeat. Part of him wanted to test something, but he wondered how Luke would react to it: there's a high chance he would enjoy it, but Michael would never know until he actually tried. So, he says to the other in a rough voice, "Don't worry, babe, I'll take care of you. You've gotta trust me, Lukey."

He watched Luke nod his head, which filled him with relief. So, Michael took a chance, hoping it would do what it takes to make them both feel good. He rutted his hips against Luke, their dicks rubbing together in a way that's astounding. He hears Luke let out a moan, his head going back against the wall, making it so much harder for Michael to keep himself together. He did it another time, getting the same reaction out of Luke, and then paused for a second, to watch the boy toss and turn whilst panting. Then, he looked down to see Luke's hands heading down his stomach, going for another type of relief.

In a split second, Michael had Luke's wrists pinned above his head, and for a moment, they both stopped. He looked from his hands grabbing Luke's, back down to the other's bright blue eyes, seeing the innocence lurking in the ocean color. They both were panting, and waited a few seconds to catch their breaths, before picking up right where they left off. Michael placed his forehead onto Luke's, and kissed the other boy hotly and messily. Then, he began to thrust his hips like he was doing before, both of their moans being silenced by the other's mouth.

He continued this motion until they were both achingly close to their highs. Luke had never felt this kind of thrill, and he was kind of hoping it didn't have to end; whatever is going on, it feel  _so good_ , in a way he's never felt before. His moans began to turn into calls of Michael's name, and when Michael finally let go on his wrists, Luke's hands went straight for Michael's hair, giving it a gentle pull. Michael knew Luke was close, but he need something to help push him over the edge, because this wasn't doing enough. 

Michael wrapped a hand around Luke's dick, and began pumping it in time with his hips. Within seconds, he had Luke coming with a scream out of his name. Just hearing this is what sent Michael over the edge, and had him reaching his second high in such a small time. That's when it felt like the world went back to normal, and that he could finally think again. He and Luke locked eyes briefly, and Michael began to notice something; he had no idea of what is going to come, but really, he doesn't care. As long as he could spend time with Luke--whether that be a friendship or something more--Michael will be satisfied.

After everything, Luke is the thing Michael can't quit. Not now, and not ever.

 


	7. secrets are coming out

"How the shit did I think you could wear my jeans, your legs are literally seven feet long!" Michael exclaimed, looking bitterly at the sight in front. He was trying to figure out something for Luke to wear, the the size difference in their bodies made things much too complicated. The shirt fit okay; which was actually quite shocking, considering Luke is much broader than Michael. But the jeans were a much different story. It seemed that anything of Michael's were too short, Ashton's couldn't go over his bum, and Calum's were too tight through the legs, leaving Luke pant-less and Michael wondering what to do.

He had already gotten himself ready as quickly as possible, since the most focus would probably have needed to be on Luke anyway. Michael placed the alien into a simple flannel (one he might have picked specifically to match Luke's eyes, though he would never admit it). So, the only thing left before they could actually head down was to find something he could wear, since going in boxer might get them arrested. Plus, Michael was hoping to save enough time to teach Luke how to carry a conversation, and to talk a bit more normal than how he does. Though, that will probably be harder than he thinks.

Luke look down at the jeans, and then back up to Michael with confusion, "Not fit Luke?" He asked, and it was obvious he wasn't understanding why. He looked down at himself, then to the jeans, then back down with a frown. He didn't understand why they could fit in one person, but not another; wouldn't they, like, stretch or something? At least, all the clothes he has can fit on every single Uranian, which is why he doesn't understand how it's any different here on Earth. Really, in Luke's opinion, everything on Earth is different than what he's used to, and that's partly why he enjoys it so much.

But, of course, the other part is Michael. He has never felt for someone the way he does, he doesn't even know what he is feeling, for God's sake! All he knows is that Micael makes him feel all tingly and he really likes that. And, Luke kind of feels like Michael thinks the same of him, except, he probably knows what these strange tingles actually are, and he isn't so clueless about this entire thing. Something about this feels kind of wrong, but in a right way? Luke can't explain it, but it's just a weird sense in the pit of his stomach, but he kind of like it.

He almost didn't notice when Michael got up to look inside of his closet. He wasn't listening to Michael, only hearing something about wondering if there was anything else. Really, Luke had an idea, and he works best when no one is watching. So, as Michael had his back turned, Luke stared at the jeans and concentrated on making the legs longer. This might seem like lots of trouble for something so small, but in Luke's eyes, he loves every chance he has to use his powers. Even if it's for something silly like this, or to make a toy fly, Luke doesn't care. He just enjoys using his mind to do such amazing things.

So, when Michael turned around to see a struggling Luke trying to get dressed, he was quite confused. Though, he did help the boy, knowing Luke would have never been able to manage while on his own. When seeing them fit perfectly, and for Luke to look so pleased with himself, Michael eventually realized what happened; Luke solved the problem with his telekinesis. Though Michael might have been a bit upset that he was now out a pair of jeans, ultimately, he will never get used to how amazing Luke is.

Before they headed out the door, Michael sat Luke on the bed to try and discuss the game-plan of the night. He just needed to explain to Luke not to talk about his home, to keep the act going. Because, he can't have the other two boys learning about this, they wouldn't be able to understand. At least, they would accept it like Michael did; he can already see how they would go crazy, and want to tell everyone about the 'good news.' He can't let them nor anyone else know about Luke, it has to stay between the two of them, just for the fear of people taking it badly.

God, what would even happen to Luke if this news got spread around? People would start giving him weird looks, or spread untrue rumors, or worse, it could get to the government. Fuck, they could take Luke and do crazy tests on him, or give him weird shots, or shock his brain. Would Michael ever even see him again if that happened? Most likely not, and he doesn't want to imagine his world without having Luke in it, which is why he has to clarify what can and cannot be told. "Luke, you know you cannot tell Ashton and Calum where you are from, right? If they find out, bad things could happen, and you could get taken away from here."

When hearing what Michael was saying, Luke's eyes widened in fear. He could get taken away from Michael? Why would talking about his planet get him taken away, especially if it was only to Ashton and Calum? Luke didn't realize how big of a deal this situation actually was, but if theres any chance he could get removed from Michael, he would never do it. Or, even worse, they could send him  _back_  to his planet, the one place he is trying desperately to escape. Wow, now that he thinks about it, this actually  _is_  a big deal.

Luke gulped, and shakes his head, "Luke not leave Michael, Luke stay here. Michael not let bad people take Luke away, yes?" He locked eyes with Michael, and he could see the other boy's expression change, but into something Luke couldn't read. But, he knew that Michael wouldn't let anything happen to him, or at least, he hoped Michael wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Though, he knows the bad people better than anyone, and he knows they could easily hurt anyone Luke loves, which is why he has been so fearful of him; he's experienced this firsthand...they have done it to him before.

Luke doesn't like to talk about how the bad people took someone he loved; not only did they kill Bryana, but they have done much worse than that. The bad people killed Luke's whole family. Before things were like they are now, before they got so bad Luke had no choice but to escape, things were okay. He still had his family, and his friends, and he was actually happy. Until, everything in his life took a turn for the worst, leaving him with absolutely nothing.

Honestly, he can't really remember the events that happened the day he lost his family, as he has put those awful memories as far away from his mind as he possibly could. But, Luke does remember how he had tried to leave the bad people once, to go to his home and see his family. Except, when he reached his house, he found all of his family members dead; his father, and his two brothers. Luke never found his mom, but he knows they probably killed her too, and he has tried to get himself to accept that they are gone, so that he could begin to move on. 

He hasn't realized Michael was even talking, let alone it needing to be something he was listening to, until he was brought away from his thoughts when Michael says, "Luke, you are listening to me, right?" Luke nodded his head, which was a lie, since he really had no idea what Michael was on about. But, Michael believed him, when finishing by saying, "Well, just remember not to do any of the things I just said; I don't want anything bad to happen, so to be on the safer side of things, try to avoid those, alright? Plus, as long as you stay with me, and we don't get separated, I don't think anything bad will happen.

Luke had nodded his head in agreement, telling something about 'never wanting to leave Michael' as he watched the boy grab two pairs of shoes for the both of them. Luckily, they were the same size shoe, some nothing extravagant really needed to be done here. Though, before they began to meet with the other two boys, Michael couldn't help but have such a strange feeling in his stomach; he guessed it could have just been nerves, but still, he didn't like it. It's like he could tell something might go wrong, whether that something be a tiny thing or a huge disaster, he could sense it was going to happen.

Luke was turning the doorknob before Michael finally realized he was still fucking  _blue_. He grabbed Luke's wrist gently, and pulled him back over and away from the door. Luke looked at him confusedly, not knowing why Michael had stopped him. So, Michael explained, "Luke, you do realize you're still blue, right? I think you might need to do that weird color-change you do before we can leave," he finished with a bit of a laugh. Luke's eyes widened, as he muttered a small apology to Michael, before stepping back trying to make himself resemble a human. 

Except, it didn't work, just like the first time they had done this. Luke tried once more, earning the same results as the first time, which made his eyebrows furrow, and him feel confused. At least, to what Michael was able to see, not knowing what Luke was thinking. Luke could have easily change the skin color, but then he wouldn't have gotten to kiss Michael like he does when needing the DNA. So, he might have faked not being able to, just so he could get what he wanted. He can't help it, kissing Michael has gotten rather addicting, and Luke began to enjoy it too much.

So, when Michael realized it was working, he says, "Well, I guess we have to make out now, don't we?" with a shrug. Luke didn't know what 'making out' means, but when Michael sat down on the edge of the bed, he figured out quite quickly exactly what he was meaning. When their lips slowly met, Luke knew this was exactly what he had wanted, and that his plan turned out perfect. Hands around his waist, Luke really didn't want to be taken out of this moment. He hadn't even realized it when his skin turned colors, as he was too focused on much more important things, like Michael.

But, when Calum walked in, they both freaked out. Michael hadn't realized that he skin looked normal, so when he heard the door swing open, and Calum cuss and apologize for interrupting, he thought the secret was out. He thought that their cover was blown, and that Calum saw Luke when he was blue, and that everything he had feared was all starting to come true. Except when he looked to the other boy--whom was now sitting with his knees in his chest, a fearful yet confused look on his face--he let out a sigh of relief. But, he still needed to calm Luke down, since he looked scared now, but for no real reason.

"Hey, you're fine," Michael said calmly, locking eyes with Luke, seeing them relax just by the sound of his voice. He placed a hand on his knee, and rubbed a few comforting circles onto it, thinking it would help. And, it did; Luke didn't seem as worried as before, though, he still doesn't know what had Michael freaked out. Because, since Michael was freaked out, it caused Luke to be freaked out, without even knowing the reason. When hearing Michael begin speaking again, Luke get calm again, "I feel like we should go now. It's time to face the wrath-of-Calum, since he just walked in on us--does he even know how to knock? Fucking hell, he could have at least asked first, instead of just barging in." 

Luke giggled at what Michael was saying, and Michael's bitterness subsided a bit when hearing it. A smile was brought onto his face, and he shook his head in fondness towards Luke. The two walked towards the door, Michael opening it for the other boy (trying his best to act like a gentleman). He followed Luke out into the main room, where--like he had expected--Calum was filling Ashton in on what he just witnessed when walking inside of Michael's room. Both of their faces heated up when hearing how he described it, and they briefly exchanged looks, as Calum and Ashton hadn't noticed they had walked in.

"You do know this entire situation could have been avoided if you would have knocked first, right?" Michael says, his tone showing the saltiness he was feeling as to what happened. But then, Luke gave him a look; a look that says to be nice, and Michael was almost wondering how he knew what _the look_  even was. He and Calum began bickering, and Luke was looking between the two confusedly. Ashton, of course, found this entire thing hilarious, and was giggling to himself as he watched the two boys squabble over the whole ordeal.

Except, he got noticeably confused when his eyes looked over to Luke. It almost seemed like he didn't understand what was going on between Calum and Michael; like he somehow had no idea what an argument could have been, and was waiting for someone to explain it. But, Ashton tried to shake that from his head, since he figured basically everyone from this planet knew what a bickering was, so he tried to think Luke could have been confused over something else. Plus, what he thought had to have been too extreme, so it was immediately ruled out. And, it was good Michael can't read minds, because if he knew Ashton was questioning things about Luke, he would have flipped out.

"Don't worry about them," Ashton starts, making Luke jump slightly in surprise. He wasn't really expecting for someone to talk with him, as he was so in depth on wanting to know what was going on with Michael and why he was angry. "They do this a lot, you will end up not even noticing it soon. Seriously, they get so bitter over nothing; thank god neither of them ever hold grudges. Watch, in about a minute Michael will probably say something stupid, and then they will both completely forget they were even arguing."

And, Ashton was exactly right. Within a minute of him saying that, Michael made some innuendo about dicks, and them having the mindset of twelve-year-olds found it absolutely hilarious. And, again, Luke couldn't understand how the two went from being so angry to now being best friends again. Or, how this is almost a daily-basis thing for them, via Ashton. But, he knew he couldn't ask any questions until he finally had Michael back to himself, since he wouldn't want to go against what Michael asked him to do, and let his secret out.

So, when everything finally died down, the four started out on their trip to the movies. Ashton drove, whilst Calum took the passengers seat, and left Luke and Michael in the back (which they were both extremely thankful for). Before Ashton and Calum had gotten inside the car, Michael had to explain to Luke what a seat belt was, and why he had to wear it, since Luke didn't want the _'ropey strip'_  to come near him. And, when Michael pulled it down over him, Luke became amazed by how to much was able to come out, and had Michael explain to him where it all came from.

Michael was hoping for it to be a silent trip, so that Luke didn't have to talk very much, since his English still needed major work until he can have actual conversations with people whom don't know about him. But, when Calum asked, "So, Luke, do you have any siblings, or is it just you and your parents?" Michael could see  the strike of fear hit Luke's eyes. And, when noticing Luke tense up at the thought of his family, Michael got worried. Luke had never mentioned them before, so Michael didn't really look into it. But, with how bad the bad people look talks about are...could they have done something to them.

When Luke didn't answer, Michael took it upon himself to make up a lie, not knowing anything else to do to get through this situation. Plus, if the subject didn't change quickly, Michael was afraid Luke may pass out again, and god only knows what could happen then. He tells Calum that Luke's an only child, and the boy believes it, but does give a funny look as to why Michael answered instead. But, he didn't want to push any boundaries, so he left things as is. But, Michael still felt a worry for Luke, who was now starting to look like he might cry; mentioning his family definitely brought back some unwanted memories for Luke, and he will remember that for a future.

So, Michael scooted to the middle seat--seeing that the other two wouldn't pay any attention anyway--and began trying to calm Luke down. He placed a hand on Luke;s cheek, and whispered only loud enough for him to hear, "Lukey, it's okay, you know I'm not going to let anything hurt you," He paused, looking at the sad blue eyes, "you're always safe when you're with me." Luke nodded sadly, but Michael did help when trying to make him feel better.

Before Michael could scoot back, Luke placed his hands on Michael's cheeks and brought him in for one last kiss. Unlike their first few kisses shared, Michael immediately kissed back, and he could feel Luke smiling against his mouth. They pulled away after mere seconds, and Michael went back to the position he started in. He looked to the other, smiling faintly to himself when seeing him blushing and playing with his fingers. It's adorable. He leaned back onto his head rest, eyes darting quickly to the small mirror that blocks the sun (Michael is twenty-two, yet he still has no idea what those are called), and sees Ashton giving him a wink.

Michael rolled his eyes, with a smile on his face. He knew that Ashton probably caught them, but shockingly, he doesn't care. Plus, Ashton seemed pretty cool with it, which makes things even better. He overheard ashton say to Calum about he and Luke being, _'just so cute!'_  Then, he watched Calum roll his eyes, but laugh to himself afterwards.  At this moment, Michael started to realize just how lucky he really is; he has two really fucking great friends, and was somehow 'chosen' to look after an alien. A fucking alien! At first, that seemed to scary to him, but now things are beginning to actually feel normal.

Luke hadn't even realized they were there until the car parked. Michael unbuckled his seatbelt for him, before the two went out of the car. The four boys began walking to the door, and Luke felt so amazed when seeing so many humans around. Like, it's the feeling he felt when seeing Michael for the first time, but a thousand times stronger. He was trying to keep himself together, but this was still so new to him, that he couldn't help but feel excited. He didn't even realize he was 'people watching' until Michael nudged him, whispering, "Luke, you're staring."

Luke shrugged, not really knowing he was staring, but not wanting to stop until he figured this out. Their was two people walking ahead; a blonde girl and dark-headed boy, but their hands were laced together weirdly. Luke noticed how they seemed to feel about each other the same way he feels about Michael, he just doesn't know what it's called. But, he looked back at their hands, and then to his and Michael's, and then back at the couples one last time. If the couples likes each other the way Luke likes Michael, then is he supposed to hold Michael hand too? He was hoping the answer was a yes, because holding Michael's hand seemed nice.

So, Luke took a deep breath, and just went for it. They're hands were basically touching anyway,  so when Luke grabbed Michael's and tried to make their fingers to the weird crissy-cross like the other's, he kind of failed miserably. But, it seemed like luck was on his side, because Michael figured out what he was trying to do, and with a small chuckle, he laced their fingers together the right way. Luke felt his stomach do the weird feeling again, and this was starting to be something he is used to. Thought he still enjoys it, Luke just wished this weird feeling actually had a name.

It took a good fifteen minutes to actually decided on a movie (and Michael had to discreetly try to explain what that is), before everyone was finally in agreement on what to see. It was some horror movie, Michael doesn't really remember the name, but Calum seems to think it's going to be really good, so they went with that. Michael bought the tickets for him and Luke, of course, and then he lead Luke over to the popcorn and candies. When Luke saw the area, he looked in amazement, as this thing was so cool in his eyes. Though, to most other people, it was just the food area, except Luke thought the pretty colors and the different types of foods are probably one of the best things he has seen so far.

He looked at the large pile of tiny, light-yellow objects that are scooped into a striped bag. His eyebrows furrowed, and he nudged Michael a bit with his elbow to get his attention. Michael looked to see what Luke was wanting him for, and saw the boy staring at the giant pile of popcorn, and so with a small smile, Michael explained, "It's called popcorn. It's a food that your supposed to eat at the movies--not exactly sure why, though. I was gonna buy some, you can share with me, okay?" Michael says, and Luke nodded, looking happy as always.

Then, Ashton and Calum walked over to join them again. Ashton began telling the boys about the conversation he was having with the girl from the register, "Guys, the girl we bought out tickets from said that this movie is, like, crazy packed," he paused, and Michael could already since the words before they even came out of Ashton's mouth, "Do you think we should split up? Have two of us go save seats and the other two buy food?" And though the idea was great, Michael would only agree if Luke stayed with him. He can't take his chances, as he has no idea of the things Luke may say.

"That sounds good, I guess," Michael says, trying to deny the idea as nicely as possible, "Only if Luke stay's with me, though. I, uh--he's been on a vacation with his family, so we couldn't talk for a few days." he knew hat wasn't a good excuse, but it was enough for them to believe.

Accept, Calum didn't agree to it. In fact, he actually had an idea of his own, "Does Luke have to stay with you, though? I thought we could go find the seats, since we literally found out you had a secret boyfriend this morning. Plus, he still hasn't received the Calum-seal of approval." He finished his sentence with a laugh, and before Michael was able to object any, Calum was already leading his alien away to the halls of theaters. He felt himself start to panic, and it must have been noticeable to Ashton, as well, because the boy said, "Dude, chill out. Calum just wants to get to know him; not like he's going to steal your boyfriend, or something."

While Michael was freaking out, Luke was trying to figure out way to respond to Calum's questions in his most-human manner. Then, he heard Calum begin to ramble about the movie they were going to see, "I saw on Twitter a lot of people were saying it was really good, but I'm not sure. I think it's about aliens? I'll enjoy it, since aliens are really cool, but I don't think Michael's a big fan of the extraterrestrial." Calum didn't even realize just how ironic his words actually were; saying Michael was a fan of things from space, yet he  _really_  enjoys being around Luke. 

"To be honest, I don't think I believe in aliens," Calum continued his words, and Luke was happy just listening to him talk. Except, he knew how wrong Calum was, because his entire planet is considered ' _aliens_ ' here. That's when the idea of telling Calum came into his head, though he knew Michael told him not to. He doesn't want to add another person for the bad people to attack, but the instinct to tell his secret is becoming a big thing for him to tell. But, he doesn't want to make things bad, like Michael said could happen.

This seemed to have been an argument going through Luke's head at the moment. He wants to tell Calum, and to drop the act for a brief moment, but he knows it would be best if he kept things a secret. Could Luke let Calum know, if he promised not to tell Michael about it? It would be risky, and he's not sure if he can trust such a huge secret with a human he doesn't know very well. But, Luke hates having to hide who he really is, and he honestly doesn't see the point in needing to keep this from everyone.

"Ashton believes in them, though," he speaks, then turning to Luke, "What do you think, Luke? Do you think aliens are real?" he finally asked the other boy, who was biting his tongue on what he needed to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again; this is so hard, trying to figure out whether or not to tell something this big to someone he barely knows. Though, if he is Michael's best friend, Luke figures he must be pretty trustworthy, and most likely wouldn't share his secret to the entire human race. But, then again, Luke has to be careful with these sorts of things.

Before Luke could answer, Calum was dragging him into a white room--just like the one Michael took him to! Except it was missing the ' _shower_.' And soon, Luke was standing awkwardly by himself in the room, waiting on Calum to be done so they can go. It didn't take very long, except Luke felt a sudden urge to just do what he had been thinking about the whole time. Luke is going to tell Calum he's an alien, and is praying the other boy takes the news okay. He can't have things go bad, but he needs to let Calum in.

So, he begins with, "Calum keep secret for Luke, yes?" and he watched Calum start to look confused, but nod his head anyway. He was probably wondering why Luke's english has suddenly went so far down, since he wasn't the easiest to understand at that moment. He continued his questions with, "Calum not get scared of Luke when he sees, promise?" and again, Calum had no idea what the boy was on about, but he agreed to it anyway.

And so, Luke took a step back from Calum, and looked to the closed door of the bathroom. His eyes focused on it for a mere three seconds, before the sound of a lock clicking went throughout the room. Calum gulped, wanting to ask how that just happened, but thinking he should wait to see what happens next. He watched Luke close his eyes, taking calm breaths, before doing something so unexpected, so crazy that Calum thought he might have been seeing things. Within a blink of the eye, Luke's skin went from peach to fucking  _blue_. He was literally blue!

Calum's eyes widened, and Luke expected him to try and leave, or bombard him with questions that he might not can answer. But, Luke hadn't expected him to actually be okay with it. He was confused as hell, yeah, and he definitely wanted to punch Michael for not telling them about Luke. But, instead, he asked one of the most obvious questions on the planet, "Luke...um, why is you skin blue?"

With fear in his eyes, Luke says, "Luke not from here...Luke sent here from home to be safe. Calum promised not tell, can't tell anyone!"

Thankfully, Luke got the answer he was looking for. It took a good five minutes for everything to begin to sink in for Calum, but soon he said, "Don't worry, Luke, you're secret is safe with me." And Luke couldn't have felt any happier knowing things were going to turn out fine.

At least, that's what he had thought.

 


	8. turning to an all out war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when it describes the bad people, just look at a picture of the demogorgon from stranger things for it to make more sense haha

Luke didn't like the movie theater very much.

There were so many people, and he now finds himself better with small amounts. Not to mention it was dark! When the lights had first shut off, Luke took in a breath that Michael noticed, so he held Luke's hand the entire time. He could feel just how nervous Luke was, and honestly, he was feeling nervous himself. Michael knows about Luke's fear of being in the dark since the time he was in the closet, and ever since he's terrified of Luke hyperventilating, or maybe passing out again, which he definitely couldn't have going on then. 

But, things actually went smoothly! Except, Michael was beginning to wonder what had caused Calum to be so quiet throughout the night. It's so unlike him to spend so much time being so quiet, as he's normally one of the most talkative people Michael has ever met. So, this obviously made Michael wonder what could have been said that finally made the boy shut up. Or, there is always a chance nothing was even said to him, and Calum just has a lot on his mind. Michael is most-likely blowing this way out of proportion, and needed to take a step back.

They had finally went home, and had a very uneventful night, before all turning in and going to bed. It didn't even hit Michael until hearing his alarm go off that he has school, since it's Monday again. He wanted to groan, maybe even say a few curses, before deciding to stay in bed. Then, adding onto the problem, Calum and Ashton have school, too. Now, on any other day this wouldn't have been a very big deal, since this was how they spent most of their days, but now there's something for Michael to worry about; Luke.

He's going to have to leave Luke home alone for the first time, and that's scary. God, Luke doesn't even know how to take care of himself, how is he going to be fine being left alone? Michael sits up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with one hand, and letting the other mindless tickle Luke's blue arm with the tips of his fingers. He sighed to himself; he wants to stay home, because a whole day alone with Luke sounds pretty damn great, but he knows that if he missed another lecture from his professor, he'd probably fail the class. Maybe, Luke might not get into too much trouble by the time he gets back?

What is his saying, this is Luke that he's thinking of, he could literally fly Michael's fucking lego around the entire house with his mind without anyone knowing, if he wanted to. To say he wouldn't get into and mischief is like saying a race car driver hates going fast, it's obviously not true. Though Luke definitely doesn't mean to be, he just gets curious about things quite easily, which worries Michael to leave him inside the apartment all by himself for an entire day, let alone the other four days until the weekend.

Michael felt the boy start to toss and turn in his sleep, and watched as a shutter ran thought his body. He reached out his arm blindly looking for Michael, and frowned when no longer feeling his warm body. Luke opened one eye, looking up at Michael sadly when seeing he was getting out of bed. Luke felt instantly colder when he left, and it caused him to sit up tiredly as ask in a quiet voice, "Michael up early? Luke want Michael back, Luke  _cold_." he sounded a bit whiney, but he was just sleepy. He was pouting, and Michael somehow smiled through this, because Luke is literally the cutest thing.

He had the blanket up to his chest, yet he was still shivering. Michael does,'t get how this boy can stay so cold; it has to be some weird-alien defect that causes it, it was the only logical thing he could think of (though, like he's said many times, this situation is no where near the definition of logical). But, Michael knew he couldn't leave Luke freezing, but he also knew he couldn't get back into bed and cuddle Luke like there's no tomorrow, so he had to come up with a few alternatives to go about the problem.

Michael first walked into the bathroom, and Luke felt like his frown was getting deeper, because he really wanted Michael to come back to him. But, he saw Michael bring back this weird looking object and place it next to the bed, where Luke was sitting. Then, when he plugged it in, Luke suddenly felt himself being hit with warm air, and honestly, he wished Michael would have brought this out sooner. This must be the opposite of the cold-machine from the kitchen, its a  _hot-machine_! He reached a hand out towards the bars, stopping to let it feel the heat against his cool hand. 

Not only that, but before Michael even got dressed himself, he searched in his drawers for a sweatshirt that Luke could wear for the day. He finally found one he figured would fit Luke okay, so he walked back over to be bed and sat in front of Luke. He motioned for Luke to raise his hands, and whilst the boy did so, Michael says, "I'm not going to be home today, Lukey. Calum will be here for a little while, so if he's in a good mood, he will probably pour you some cereal before he has to go, too. I think Ashton has probably already gone, his classes usually start before mine." he paused his sentences, slipping the sweatshirt over Luke's head, and watching the boys cuddle into it happily.

"I'm going to try and be back as soon as possible, okay?" Michael says, and Luke nods along. Michael noticed Luke still looked sad, but at this point, he couldn't help it. Luke gulped to himself, not wanting to have to be alone all day. Being alone is something Luke really doesn't like; every time he's alone, it seems like something bad always happens when he's left by himself, vulnerable and without anyone to protect him. But, he does realize that Michael has to leave, and he can't stay, so Luke is going to be brace and face his fears! If Michael has enough faith to leave him by himself, then Luke knows he can do it.

Michael was able to shower, brush his teeth, and fix his hair all within ten minutes, as e was running really late this morning. He found Luke in the exact same spot as before, expect now he was looking curiously at Michael's phone. He seemed to be so fascinated by SnapChat, since this was the second time he was found playing with it. Michael sneaked over, and grabbed the phone out of Luke's hands. Luke's expression dropped, but he was immediately happy again when he felt Michael kiss his lips. 

Before he was even able to kiss back, Michael was already gone. His face was flushing, and he watched Michael look at him with a smirk on his face. He shook his head fondly, before telling Luke, "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, 'kay? See you later, Lukey." As he walked out of the room, leaving Luke feeling happy from getting a kiss from Michael, he heard him exclaim, _"Bye, Calum!"_ sarcastically, before laughing loudly. Now, Luke isn't the best at figuring things out, but he was guessing Calum might have still been asleep, and Michael wanted to wake him up?

To him, this didn't seem like a very big deal, but it had obviously angered Calum when hearing him shout, "Fuck you, Michael!" and have Michael continue laughing as the front door shut. As Luke continued to sit and debate the bickerment Michael and Calum just had, he listened to Calum groan loudly, before footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. He didn't realize just how quiet he was until Calum knocked on Michael's door, causing him to jump in fright at the loud sound. "Luke, are you here?" he asked, and Luke nodded in reply.

But then, Luke realized that Calum actually couldn't see his reply, since he was behind the door. Luke giggled to himself, before focusing on the door and making it open. The door started to rattle a bit, so Luke titled his head to the side, making the door swing open. He then had a view of Calum's face, and the boy was utterly confused on how that just happened when seeing Luke was still laying in bed. His mouth was open a bit, but he finally just shook his head and muttered the words, "At first that seemed weird, but then I remembered you're a fucking  _alien_. Nothing really seems weird anymore," he paused, walking into the room, before continuing with a yawn, "I'm hungry, come to the kitchen and eat."

Luke furrowed his eyebrows. The kitchen? The kitchen could be the place with the cold machine, Luke wonders. It would make sense, and now that he thinks about it, he's pretty sure Michael has taken him inside there before! So, though he was finally starting to feel warm, Luke got up and began following Calum into the kitchen. He stopped when reaching the bar, and was curiously watching Calum pour these little flakes into a bowl. Calum put the book back inside the cabinet, and when turning around to grab the milk from inside the fridge, he jumped when seeing Luke standing quietly behind him.

"Fuck, Luke, at least warn me next time!" Calum giggled for a few seconds, but it stropped when he noticed Luke was just standing there awkwardly. He furrowed his eyebrows, before telling Luke, "You can sit down, you know. The chairs aren't going to bite," his sass is evident to most people, but he's noticed it doesn't seem to work on Luke. But, Luke did do what Calum had said, and he slowly began to sit inside one of the empty chairs, the entire time all Calum was able to think is just how strange this is, because fuck, this is really strange.

It was then Calum realized Luke could really fend for himself, because he didn't know how to make anything. At least, not on this planet? The whole alien-thing still hasn't fully sank in yet, but it feels like he's starting to understand it, if that makes sense. For most people, Calum wouldn't do this, but considering Luke's whole...situation...he figured it would be best to just do it for him. But does he even know the names of these foods? Will he need to explain  _every single item_ in order for Luke to understand? Because, that just seems like a lot of work.

Before Calum even had a chance to say anything about making food, it almost started to seem like Luke was reading his mind when he said, "Calum make Luke gold circles, like Michael?" Gold circles? What the fuck is a gold circle? His expression must have said it all, because then Luke tried to explain with, "Inside cold-machine! Yellow box has gold circles; Michael put gold circles in the ding-box!" It must have been a blessing from the heavens above when Calum finally understood what Luke was trying to hard to explain, and he couldn't help but drag out a long,  _'ohhh,'_  because  _now_  he gets what Luke was trying to say.

It was waffles! It makes sense now, since they are shipped as circles, and the color is somewhat gold. Is the freezer the cold-machine? He checked the time on the clock, and Calum realized he really didn't have time to think too deeply on the matter. He quickly placed two of the waffles inside the toaster, handing Luke a plate to place them on, before heading off into his room. Before he knew it, Calum was already back outside, changed into some jeans and a shirt that reads 'maine.' As he walked by, the waffles popped, showing they were done yet simultaneously scaring both Luke and Calum.

With a laugh, Calum says his goodbyes, before leaving Luke to his first day by himself. Things started to feel quiet, in a way Luke was very used to. He tried to distract himself by taking the two  _waffles_  out of the the ding-box (not knowing it's actually called a toaster), and took a bite out of one of them. He frowned; these didn't taste as good as the one's Michael had made. Michael told him they had 'chocolate chips' in them, and it looks like these didn't. Eh, they still tasted good enough, so he continued eating as he began to explore around the apartment.

He first started out with the living room, and remembered it as the room he was in when first coming to Earth. Taking another bite from one of his waffles, Luke poked one of the back cushions on the couch. It was soft, like, really soft, and he made sure to take a mental note to come back in here later. But, of course, there was still more of this place for him to look around, since basically the only room he has been inside is Michael's. Oh, and the bathroom, which now contain certain memories Luke has that he  _definitely_  does not want to forget.

So, he continued until reaching the hallways, and saw four doors in front of him. Two of them were places he has seen before, but the other two were what he was looking for. If Michael has a room, then that means two of these belong to Calum and Ashton, right? He was about to go inside one of them, but then a got a sudden feeling of this being wrong, like he was intruding on someone's personal boundaries, or something. But, then again, his curiousness about the surrounds overtook him, and he knew it would only die down once he went inside.

So, that's exactly what he did. Luke turned the nob of the door, and walked into a room that looked almost identical to Michael's. He did try to take in the differences; the posters on the wall, the colors of the bed-spread, and the many pictures of people Luke didn't recognize. Accept, he did recognize Calum, which made him realize it was his room. He walked to the bed, and sat so that he could see what was on the bed-side table. It was a picture of Calum, Michael, and Ashton, but they all looked much younger. Especially Michael. Luke almost wasn't able to recognize his Michael with a different color hair, as his fingertips barely brushed across the frame.

Human's age so much different than Luke's people. He looked to another picture from Calum's dresser, of a very young Calum and a girl whom looks quite a lot like him. Luke frowned; he guessed this was Calum's sibling, which makes him think of his older siblings. God, he really misses them. But, he knew the more he thought about them, the easier it is for the darkness to take him, so he had to change his mind's thoughts. And he can't let himself fall back into the darkness, with the bad people...he couldn't handle another type of torture.

He shook his head, deciding it would be best to leave this room all together. Luke walked out of Calum's bedroom, making sure to close the door behind as he started to walk inside of Ashton's. Ashton's room was much cleaner than the other two, which was something Luke noticed right off the bat. Another thing he noticed was that Ashton's room smelt  _really_  good. Like, he wasn't sure what it was, but he really liked it. He closed the door behind him, and noticed something very strange looking sitting in the corner of Ashton's room.

It was a big set of weird-shaped objects all connected together. Their was a small seat placed behind it, and on the seat laid two sticks. Luke furrowed his eyebrow together at the very strange thing Ashton had, as he reached out to touch one of the gold-circles closest to him. When he touched it, the thing made a weird 'ting' sound, and Luke isn't sure what it was, nor if he liked it. Though, he must say, this rather strange object did seems quite cool, so Ashton must be pretty good at playing with it. But, now that Luke thinks about it, he probably wouldn't want Luke messing with his things.

Though, a cheeky thought did come to mind when Luke remembered Ashton would never know if he messed with this a bit, because he wouldn't be here to know what Luke was doing. Luke isn't sure if this fits in this context, but he heard Michael say, _'what you don't know won't hurt you,'_  once, and it seemed quite fitting. He noticed wording on the front of Ashton's object, seeing it said the words drum kit on the front. Luke made sure to take note that this is called a drum kit, so he can remember it in case this could come up in the future.

His fingers gently ran over the sticks, and he gently grabbed one in his hand. Then, trying to be as careful as possible, Luke hit the tip of the stick to the gold part of the drum kit. It made the same sound as before, only much louder this time, causing Luke to cringe to himself. He really didn't like the drum kit; it was too loud, Luke liked things that were much calmer. But, if Ashton liked them, then Luke thought that was really cool! He wondered if Michael had hobbies like this, too. Maybe some that might interest Luke, as well. 

Luke frowned; Michael has been gone around an hour, yet Luke is already wanting him to get back home. The apartment is rather boring when he is all by himself, and since Luke doesn't know what anything is, he isn't able so really  _do_  things. With a small sigh, he placed he drum stick back onto Ashton chair where it was found and left the room. Now, he's looking to find something to distract from the sad thoughts, to make it through the rest of the day. As he walked back into the main room, he did feel a bit more satisfied from exploring the house, like he had wanted to do.

Then, he remembered the couch from before, and how he thought it felt very comfy. With a giggle, he thought about watching Michael jump on the couch once, and how he didn't understand why. But...with no one watch, and all, maybe Luke could recreate what Michael did just to see if it is actually as strange as it looked when Michael did it. So, he flung himself on the couch, just as Michael did before, continuing to giggle to himself just by his own silliness. But, now he definitely understands why the three humans always tend to lay on this; it's  _so_  soft. To be honest, Luke almost finds it as comfortable as Michael's bed, but it isn't  _that_  great (nor does it have Michael to cuddle him).

Though, he felt something poking him in the back, making him slightly cringe. He wiggled a bit, trying to figure out what it could be, until he started to hear something; he began to hear  _talking_. With fear rattling his bones, Luke slowly began to sit up, and looked around the room to see who else could have been inside of the house. When he couldn't see where the voices were coming from, Luke tried to convince himself that this wasn't really anything to worry about, and that it is all just in his head. Well, until he say a black figure inside of the hallway.

Then, he had realized why the talking seemed so strange to him at first, it was because they were speaking in his language, which means it couldn't have been a human. He stood up slowly, and quietly made his way over to the hallway, his heart racing with every steep. The only thought he had was that he was getting taken back, the only thing he was fearing could happen after this. The closer he got to the creature, the more he knew what it was, and the more scared he started to feel. Finally, when he got to the edge of the hallway, Luke gulped.

That's when he knew what it was, it was  _them._

They found him, and now Luke knows they are going to take him back. His eyes widened and he felt himself gasp a bit. This can't be happening, how did they even get here? Luke thought Earth was somewhere he could have stayed safe, that he could have hid here, and they wouldn't have found him. God, he went almost two days without having to go into the darkness, and now, they have found him. They are actually here with him, inside of Michael's apartment, and looking really angry. They turned around, and Luke almost forgot just how scary they can look when they get angry.

Unlike Luke, the bad people have gray-colored skin, one that is very textured and tight across their bodies. They were taller than Luke remembered as well; Luke hasn't witnessed them so angry since he was around fifteen, and now being eighteen (in Earth years), he can tell they have gotten much scarier than before. The scariest part of the bad people is their faces, five flaps, all covered with rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. He couldn't help but gulp, knowing something bad was about to happen, and having to mentally prepare for whatever the pain it bares upon him.

He tried to be a calm as possible, and began to slowly walk backwards to get away before it could try anything. Luke was making sure to stay silent, worried that one little sound could set them off into a rampage of torture, one like he hasn't faced before. When almost making it back to the kitchen, Luke let himself think he was going to be okay. He had even made a plan on what to do when he got inside; he was going to hid inside of the pantry and hope the bad people didn't catch him. It was only one of them, and he was even beginning to think he might could take down just the one. But, he thought very, very wrong.

When Luke's foot hit the entrance of the kitchen, the floor let out a loud creek, causing it's head to turn swiftly to face him. Luke held his breath, and the only thoughts running through his brain were that he was a goner. He was going to die, or get sent back home, and will never see any of his human friends again. He will never get to see his Michael again. A lump started to form in his throat, and part of him wanted to cry at this moment, not knowing of another way to handle this situation other than breaking down. But, he was going to stay strong, because if he can try, maybe he won't have to go back, and maybe he could actually stay and fight.

He suddenly felt a strange feeling of something wrapping around him, though there was nothing there. Then, he was slowly starting to be moved forward, and his body fell stiff, not even knowing what to describe all the things he was feeling. He couldn't move, and it felt like his chest was starting to close in, making it terrible hard for him to try to breathe. Within seconds he was back in front of the monster, so close he was able to feel it's breath on his face. And then, it began to speak, "Were you not expecting visitors, Special One? Did you forget our last conversation; I know we said we would get you back, no matter what it may take."

It looked around the apartment, like it could have been looking for something,  _someone_. Before they even had to say it, Luke knew exactly the person it was looking for, "Is your human not home, Lurtxlyn? Such a shame, it would have been so nice to get to meet him, and it would have saved you from getting hurt today," with it's mind, it turned Luke a bit, so that his back was now facing one of the walls inside of the living room. Then, it continued with a deriding voice, "But, since he decided to leave you here alone today, I guess you get to have all the fun."

Without any time of warning, Luke was slammed hard against the wall of the apartment, his head hitting back so hard that his vision was starting to become blurred. He groaned to himself, reaching a hand to touch his head, only to have his limbs drawn tightly against the wall, making him unable to move. It started to walk closer to him, and with every step Luke started to wiggle and jolt to try and free himself from being stuck. Nothing was working, and the closer it was getting, the tighter and tighter Luke's body was beginning to feel, so bad he was beginning to ache.

It's voice went from taunting to angry in a matter of seconds, and Luke was so worried about what's about to happen he was having trouble trying to listen, "If you agree to come back, all of this can be avoided, all we need is your agreement," it paused, "I don't think you want to know what will happen if you refuse." Luke was gritting his teeth, baring the pain the best he can, and not planning on giving in to what they want. He will never go back, and he has told them this many times before, yet they will never quit trying to come after him.

It waited to see what would be Luke's answer, but Luke was finding to hard to speak with the circumstances he is in. He needed to pull himself together, and try to mutter out his answer, so he can get the rest of this over with. Breathless, Luke started to say, "Luke...stay...here."

He could tell this wasn't the answer that the bad people were looking for. Luke saw the anger start to wash over it, before things took a major turn for the worst. Luke's back started to slowly slide up the wall, his feet no longer touching the ground, and the air no longer able to reach his lungs. It felt like there was an invisible hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing as hard as possible. Luke was gasping, not even realizing his hands were free until feeling his neck, trying to grab the nothingness that was somehow choking him. He was struggling, and his actions were getting weaker without the oxygen he was needing.

Luke was lifted inches higher, but by this point, he didn't even realize it. His body felt like it was turning numb, tingling and unable to feel anything. The pain felt like it was gone, but part of Luke knew that wasn't a good thing; it meant he was dying. His vision was going in and out, but he tried to keep himself awake as hard as he could. Luke was about to pass out, until he could barely hear a lock click inside of the front door. The bad person's head immediately went to the sound of the noise, then he looked to Luke one more time, and said to him, "This is  _not_  over," before he vanished.

As the door opened, Luke dropped from his place on the wall to the hard floor,gasping for breath and feeling to weak to try and move. He didn't know who had walked in, but at this point, he didn't really care who it was. He was just thankful they did, otherwise he would have been  _gone_  by now. He was feelings very dizzy, but he was still able to hear Ashton call out, "Luke, is that you?" before walking into the living room.

Luke was barely even able to register what was going on until he felt someone by his side, and a hands placed on his shoulder and knee. He could hear Ashton trying to talk to him, but he didn't know what the human was saying. All he could think about was that he needed Michael, and he couldn't wait any longer.

He felt a bit of strength come back, and he used it to tell Ashton quietly, "Luke n-need Michael, A-Ashton get Michael for Luke, please," before everything started to go black.

 


	9. a tragic story, staring you and me

Michael was actually having a good day. His professor was in a good mood, and he was actually able to take down most of the notes for the class. Though, he still was worried Luke caught the apartment on fire, which might sound like a joke to most people, but knowing Luke anything could happen. He and Calum had been texting thought most of his class, and after both of them were finished with everything they were going to get food. Now, Michael would never turn down a good meal, but Calum doesn't normally plan to do things with him, which is why Michael was starting to wonder if something was wrong.

He was starting to feel a vibe that Calum was needing to talk to him, to tell him something. Could he be hiding something from Michael? This was starting to give him an anxious feeling, for some reason, and now it was starting to get in his head. Maybe, he just needs to calm down, and focus back on the last five minutes of his class. Calum probably isn't even hiding anything from him, nor does he want to tell him anything! Michael is probably just over-thinking--which is something he does quite often--and needs to clear his mind of the worries.

But, then again, maybe the anxious feeling he's having wasn't meant for what Calum was needing, maybe it could be for another reason. Now, the thought that was circling throughout Michael's head was that something could have happened to Luke. He isn't sure what it could have been that happened, but now he has this very strange gut-feeling that is making him wonder if something could be wrong, and if he should skip out on the plans and go check on his alien-boyfriend. But, if he did skip out on Calum, he wouldn't have a very good excuse to why, and he wouldn't want to hurt the other's feelings by it.

So now, with Calum's latest text saying he's walking towards Michael's car, he figured there was no way of getting out of this. When the class was dismissed, Michael sighed to himself, but told Calum he would meet him there. He isn't sure why this is such a 'bad thing,' since he normally loves spending time with Calum! After all, they  _have_  been best friends for almost fourteen years now. Really, if anything, he should be pretty excited for this, instead of dreading the thought of going. But, that is probably because he so worried about this bad feeling that he can't focus on having fun.

This is why he is needing to clear his mind so badly, because it's effecting him when he should know that nothing is wrong. Like, what does he think is going to happen to Luke? Luke is perfectly safe inside of the apartment, because nothing would be able to get inside and hurt him from there. So, really, there should be nothing to even worry about! Yet, it still seems to be so hard for him to realize this, and to tell himself not to let it effect him in these way. 

He walked out with his book in his hand, and started heading for his car whilst simultaneously checking his phone at the same time. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, so it was a shock he hadn't bumped into anyone before reaching his destination. But, when he got to his parking place, he saw Calum leaning up again the passenger's door, waiting for the other to come unlock it. When he looked up to see Michael, the boy watched Calum smile faintly. But, something seemed to be bothering him, though Michael was trying to convince himself he was only seeing things.

"Your professor takes forever to dismiss your class," Calum noted, hearing Michael give a sound of agreement. He continued on with, "It felt like i waited here for, like, twenty minutes!" He noticed Michael gave an eye-roll to that statement, which caused for Calum to giggle slightly. He was starting to notice a weird vibe, and it was partly since he had a big reason for Michael needing to come. Ever since last night, when Luke confessed about being an alien, Calum has felt the need to tell Michael he knows. He has been trying to figure out a way how all morning, and this was the best idea he could come up with.

The two of them climbed inside of the car, feeling things start to go quiet. The radio was playing lowly in the background of the two's thoughts, being so in depth that they hadn't even realized it was playing. Except, the funny thing, Michael was only trying to think of ways to distract himself, secretly hoping Calum would bring upon a new subject, or something. Because, sitting in silence makes him want to start thinking, and over-thinking is something that happens much too often in Michael's life, so he is trying to make sure that will not happen once again.

But, Calum was still debating on whether he should tell Michael about what happened at the theater. He is so worried Michael will overreact to Calum knowing, and panic, which should definitely be avoided. The only problem, he knows Michael will freak if he tells him, but he cannot keep this hidden any longer. Okay, he's just going to do it; enough stress has gone on about this stupid secret, and Calum is just going to face his fears and get it over with. Plus, he can always calm Michael down, and make sure he knows that Calum thinks it's really cool, and not something completely terrifying.

Calum had opened his mouth to start, but before he had the chance, Michael was already asking him a question, "Are you hungry? I don't know if you ate any breakfast this morning, but I'm starving," he says. Then, Michael starting naming off some foods that he thought sounded really good, and started to head into his own little world, forgetting he had even asked Calum a question. Calum shook his head silently to himself, listening to Michael's quiet rambles as the boy was beginning to forget the entire conversation he had just started.

So, Calum brought Michael back down to Earth by replying, "I actually did eat breakfast this morning; Luke wanted waffles, so i stole one of his when he wasn't looking. Did you know he eats them dry? That would be hell to me," they laughed silently. Since they were already starting to talk about the alien, Calum wondered if this could be a good sidetrack into the conversation leading to the alien-thing. He forgive this would probably be one of the only chances he would get, not knowing if the subject would change before he had the chance. But, he didn't know why this was all so nerve racking to do; it really should be this big of a deal?

Sadly, before Calum had the chance to speak, Michael had began talking about something else. Luckily, it went right along with the subject at hand, "Yeah, he's pretty strange with his food," Michael smiled to himself, and Calum could see it. Michael really likes him, and it's obvious. He can't remember the last time he saw Michael this happy over something, especially not  _someone_. But, now that Calum thinks about it, it really would be like Michael to fall in love with someone from outer space. He heard Michael continue on with, "He's pretty strange all together, honestly...I think that's why I like him. Because he's different from everyone else, you know."

Calum knew  _very_  well on how different Luke is than everyone else.

God, Michael doesn't even realize just how much Luke explained to him when at the movie. He told Calum about being an alien, and the showed him that he can move thing with his mind. Like, full-on telekinesis! So, without even realizing it was happening, Calum had accidentally muttered the words, 'you could say that again,' under his breath, and loud enough that Michael was able to hear. He could see Michael get nervous out of the corner of his eye, which is stupid, he really shouldn't get so worked up over things. But, then again, if this was happening to Calum, he would probably be reacting the same way as Michael is; nervous, anxious, and wanting it to be kept a secret.

He sighed, before saying, "Michael, I need to tell you something." Calum paused his words, beginning to wonder if this is a good idea. Should he continue pretending he doesn't know? That probably would be even worse, because keeping it a secret longer could make Michael even more upset. So, he decided to grow a pair, and says, "I know about Luke."

Hearing that made Michael tense. What does he mean he 'knows about Luke'? He couldn't know, they have been really careful about this, and we're doing really well on keeping it a secret! Maybe, Calum knows something else about Luke? Something that doesn't have anything to do with him being an alien, even though he knows, deep down, that it's about this. How did he even find out? Michael thought they were doing good with keeping it a secret, and he made sure not to let Luke go outside of his bedroom without changing the skin color, so how else could he have figured it out? Unless...

Calum was basically reading his mind when he continued with, "It was last night, when Luke and I went to go save the seats. We had stopped inside of the bathroom--don't worry, no one else was inside--and we were talking about how I didn't believe aliens were actually real. I guess he was wanting to prove me wrong, or to show me that they do exist? I don't really know, honestly. But when I was washing up, I heard the lock click, but neither of us did it, which was when I started to figure things out. Next thing I knew, Luke's skin somehow changed from pale to blue, and then he just told me," judging by the look on Michael's face, he was panicking over this, so Calum quickly added, "Hey, don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone I know about it. Plus, this is really fucking cool, and I wouldn't want to ruin that."

To be honest, Michael felt weirdly okay about this. Once hearing Calum say everything, and letting everything begin to sink in, he realized that maybe this isn't as bad as he thought it would be? Now, this definitely doesn't mean he going to go around telling everyone about his new alien-boyfriend, but he is starting to think having Calum know as well wouldn't be too bad. But, he isn't sure of when would be a good time to tell Ashton, though it might need to be soon so he does't get bitter about being left out of the secret. Well, Michael can worry about that later, right now he is relieved and wants to finally get to talk with someone about it.

Michael began to start talking about Luke, after Calum decided to tease him and asked how he even found Luke, "It's kind of a weird story, honestly. I was walking home from work, and I saw a blue light shining over the apartment, but then it disappeared. So, I figured it was a malfunction with a streetlight, and just continued on. Well, when I got inside of the apartment, Luke walked out of the hallway, and then somehow we were kissing, and the next thing I knew he was telling me his home was the stars," Michael smiled through every word, thinking about the day Luke was somehow placed into his life.

Calum awed, and the teasing started back up right where it was left, "Look at that little smile, Michael has a  _cruuush_ ," His joking attitude made Michael roll his eyes, but they were both laughing over it. All of the weird and anxious thoughts Michael was having before seemed to have hidden themselves, at least, enough so that he was no longer worried about them. In this moment, he felt like things were starting to become less stressful; he can go home, see that nothing crazy happened to Luke, and fuck, he might even tell Ashton about him. Michael was no longer worried, and he was genuinely happy.

Though, emotions can change within seconds. Like Michael did, once he received a phone call from Ashton Irwin.

When his phone started ringing, he tossed it over to Calum and asked the boy to put it on speaker. So, Calum did as he was told and put the phone call on speaker, holding Michael's phone in-between the two of them so he could also speak to Ashton. He was about to greet the boy, but before he could say anything, Ashton's frantic voice was coming through the line, "Michael, you have to get home  _right now_. Something is wrong with Luke, fuck, I don't even know what happened, but you need to be here, like, as soon as possible!"

Both of their eyes widened, looking to each other briefly, before Michael began to drive the way to their shared apartment. Calum was the one to ask the questions, because Michael was too focused on wha could be wrong with his Luke to even try to think of anything to say. God, he knew that feeling was their for a reason, and now Luke is in trouble and Michael couldn't have been there to stop it. But, he did hear Calum ask worriedly, "Ash, what do you mean something is wrong with Luke? Is he okay? Is he hurt?" He noticed the other fearful expression, "You're really freaking us out."

The car felt tense. Michael's hands shook from how tight he was gripping the wheel, and Calum was trying to figure out ways to calm his friend down. But, it was getting harder to do when Ashton began to explain what is happening with Luke, "I-I don't know what happened, I had just walked inside when I found him. He was in the corner of the room, fuck Michael, he was barely breathing! It was like something was choking him, or something. He could barely talk, but he tried to ask me to get you home. And now, he passed out; Michael, he's  _blue_. Like, his skin is blue, is this some weird disease he has? Shit, his pulse is really low, you two need to get home  _now_."

At that, Ashton hung up the call, leaving Michael and Calum to get back home as quickly as possible. Michael gulped; this was all his fault. He shouldn't have left Luke home alone like he did, he should have skipped school today and stay with him. Or, he could have even brought Luke to his class, if the professor wouldn't have minded! But no, Michael told himself Luke was going to be fine, and let the boy stay alone for, what, four hours? God, who knows what could have happened to him whilst they were all gone! It could have just been him fainting, which has happened quite a lot, but Michael has a feeling this might be something much more.

"He's going to be okay, Mike," hearing Calum try to make him feel better was nice,but at the same time, made Michael feel bitter. He doesn't want to hear people tell him that things will be okay, because they have no way of knowing that could happen. Luke could be fucking  _dead_  for all he knows, so hearing that things will be okay tends to make him even more worried. If something bad really did happen to Luke, like Michael was suspecting, then he is probably really hurt, and it would all be Michael's fault for leaving him by himself, leaving him vulnerable.

Michael sighed, "How do you know that, Calum? Luke might be really bad off, and we don't even know what really happened--fuck, I should have been there for him," he gulped back his emotions, "I-I couldn't have done something, you know? I jut feel like something really bad happened to him, Cal, something more than we could have expected. And not just the fainting part, that in it's own is already a fucked up situation," He paused his words, debating on the idea of telling Calum about what happens whilst Luke's passed out. 

Calum already knows about the biggest secret, so this one shouldn't seem like as big of a deal. If anything, it's probably scarier than the alien part, yet it doesn't seem quite as strange. Sure, the entire thing has been hard enough to wrap their minds around (not to mention poor Ashton, wondering if this is a weird skin-disease he doesn't know about), but Michael thinks this part might be taken better. Except, remembering when Luke said the bad people were out for him was quite terrifying, would this make Calum a target as well? There's so many questions that Michael can't answer, which is why it's so hard to decided if he should do this or not.

Fuck it, he's going to tell Calum everything; from the first time it happened, to Luke saying they were coming for him. "I know this entire things is pretty strange, but there's something else too. Sometimes, Luke...passes out? But it's weird, because when he passes out, it's like he's taken to another world for a while. And inside of this said world, are what Luke calls the  _'bad people.'_  He hasn't said much about them, but somehow they completely torture him every time he is taken into the darkness." Michael paused, his voice growing much softer when he adds, "Last time this happened, Luke said the bad people were out to get me. I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure whoever these people are have been threatening to hurt me until Luke goes back to his planet?"

They sat in silence for minutes, letting everything Michael said have time to sink in. It felt awkward, maybe even a little tense, and neither wanted to be the first one to speak. By the time the silence was broken, they were already on the street to their apartment building, meaning almost twenty minutes of silence was shared inside of the car. Calum was the first one to speak, and somehow, he managed to lighten up the mood, like he has done many times in the past, "Mate, your life is really fucked up. No offense, but holy  _shit_ , Michael! I didn't think people were out to get Luke, or something, I just thought this was some kind of,  _'we come in peace,'_ thing."

And Michael actually managed to break into a smile, even considering the circumstances at hand. But, once the car was parked inside of the parking lot, the two boys dashed through the bottom floor and to the stairs, racing until they reached the door to the flat. Michael already had his key pulled out, as he quickly unlocked the door and went inside, becoming frantic until he could make sure Luke was going to be fine. He locked eyes with Ashton, who looked fucking  _petrified_ by what was happening, but that part didn't matter to him right now. All that mattered was to be at Luke's side.

So, that's exactly what he did. Michael saw Luke was placed on the couch, still completely out-cold, one of his arms dangling off the side. Michael was on his knees, taking the arm that was dangling and lacing his fingers with Luke's. His body felt freezing, like it did the last time this happened. He placed his forehead onto Luke's shoulder, muttering the words, "I'm here, Luke, you're okay," over and over, hoping that Luke was able to hear him. He could feel Ashton and Calum watching over them, but that was probably the least of his worries for now.

Though he felt his heart was starting to ache, Michael asked Ashton, "How long has he been out?"

"I don't know, maybe half-an-hour?He was still awake when I got here, but barely. I moved him off of the floor and onto the couch, because that seemed more comfortable for him," He heard Ashton's footsteps, and felt a hand move onto his shoulder, before the boy said, "I'm so sorry Michael, if I would have gotten here sooner, then maybe I could have done something? If anything, maybe I could have tried-"

"This isn't your fault, Ashton," Michael interrupts, not daring to turn around. Everything felt so overwhelming, and if he didn't calm down soon, he might be the second person to faint today. So, he tried to put himself into a calmer mindset, and focused on little things to keep himself together. His thumb was gently running over the backside of Luke's hand, the coldness of the alien making Michael slightly shiver. He was looking over the boy's face, seeing how peaceful he was looking whilst being out, when he thought he noticed Luke's eyes move.

Before he could even mention what he saw, Luke jolted awake with a gasp. Everything went silent; the only sound that could be heard was Luke's breathing. He looked around, scared, not knowing what could come back out, until his eyes landed onto Michael. Luke's face softened, and Michael watched as he gulped. He moved from the floor to the couch, softly, worried that any quick or sudden movements might upset the boy even more. He was paying close attention to Luke's expressions, so when he began to notice his lip start to quiver, Michael immediately knew he was about to break down.

Luke sniffled, swallowing down the thump that formed in his throats long enough to let out a broken, " _Michael."_ He wasn't going to cry, and that was the first thing Michael noticed, because seconds ago it seemed like he could have broke down at any second. Luke seemed like he was completely horrified, so much that it has made him lose all sense of feeling. Honestly, he didn't look good; him seeming so scarred by whatever had happened was beginning to make Michael nervous, and he wanted to know what needed to be done so that he could have his Luke back to normal, back to being the cute little alien that showed up inside of his apartment one night. 

Luke basically threw himself into Michael's hold, tightly gripping the other's neck and not wanting to let go anytime soon. He wanted to forget everything that happened, make it go away and never have to worry about the bad people ever again. He wanted to live here, on Earth, with Ashton, Calum, and Michael, and never have to return home. But, just because that is what Luke wants doesn't mean that's what will happen. He placed his head inside the curve of Michael's neck, as he had just needed to be held by someone; he wanted for Michael to make the bad things go away.

No one knew what to do. Calum looked to Ashton, who was already staring at him confusedly. Calum mouthed the words, 'explain later' to him, as they both put their attention back onto the actual subject at hand: find out what the hell happened when they were gone. When Michael made eye contact with the two, he could tell that's what they had been thinking, the only problem was how he would ask Luke what happened. Luke didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood at the moment. But, it seemed the two boys wouldn't take no for an answer, which left Michael to think of some way to get Luke less scared.

It's almost like Luke can read minds, because every time Michael begins to think about something, Luke always does what he was wanting. Luke released his hold on Michael, so that he was now just sitting on the boy's lap with wide eyes, and said with a shaky voice, "Bad people find Luke. Bad people  _here_ , Michael! Inside house, hurt Luke." He paused, his breaths going out for a bit, but he took a second to regain himself before continuing, "Wanted to find Michael, but hurt Luke instead. Luke never let them hurt you, never."

Michael looked over to Calum, who was directing over to poor Ashton, who was so freaked out by everything that  _he_  could have passed out, too. Calum didn't say anything out loud, but just by the look he had on his face, Michael knew he was meaning, _'if you don't tell Ashton, then I will.'_ Michael sighed; he didn't mean to make this such a big deal, and he did know Calum was right about Ashton deserving to know the truth, so he might as well enlighten him. And, who knows, he might even react like Calum, and actually be pretty cool with it?

"Ash, will you promise not to freak out when I tell you this?" Michael asks, watching Ashton nod confusedly before continuing with a deep breath. He decided it would probably be best to spit it out, so Michael abruptly says, "Luke's an alien."

"What do you mean,  _'Luke's an alien'_?"

"I mean, Luke's from a different planet, Ashton. It sound fucking crazy, but please bare with me, okay? Luke showed up in the apartment one night, and I didn't really know what to do, so I told you two he was my boyfriend so you would question anything. Sometimes, when he gets anxious, he passes out. Except, when he passes out, he is somehow transported into this weird area inside of his mind where the  _'bad people'_ somehow torture him? And now he's starting to say that the bad people are looking for me, which is fucking terrifying. But, basically, Luke is from Uranus and has been living with us."

Minutes passed before anyone said anything. Luke had moved around in Michael's lap until his back was pressed against the other's chest. He was playing with one of Michael's hands, paying absolutely no attention to Ashton and Calum watching. He then took Michael hand, and laced his own with it, smiling to himself at the warm feeling beginning to spread through his hand, all the way up through his arm. This is a feeling he only gets when around Michael, and it's different than anything he had ever felt before. He has no idea what it's called, yet he never wants it to go away.

Then, Ashton finally spoke up, "What the  _fuck_ , Michael? This is so crazy...but it's also really cool. I wish I had an alien girlfriend, or boyfriend, that sounds awesome!" But, then he paused, looking to Calum and realizing he wasn't freaking out as much. If he is just finding out now as well, wouldn't he be reacting the same way. That's when it finally hit him, "Wait, did Calum already know about this? Why would you tell Calum and not me, we all know I can keep secrets much better than he can!"

At those words, Calum added into the conversation, "Actually, Ashton, Luke was the one to tell me he was an alien." He paused, directing his eyes to Michael briefly, before confessing, "I was planning on telling you today, actually; I figured Michael wouldn't, so I was going to explain it once those two," he pointed at Luke and Michael, "when off into Michael's room and engaged into alien-human fuckin-" 

He was cut off by a pillow flying towards his head. Luckily, he had dodged it right in time, as Ashton made sure to pull him out of the way with a shocked expression. When Calum noticed Michael wearing the same expression, he realized that maybe that pillow wasn't thrown towards him, and that it was Luke. With the innocent look all over his face, Calum sighed, knowing there was no point in getting bitter over something like this; he should be thankful it was only a pillow, Luke could have made a knife fly at Calum's head if he wanted.

"Luke has telekinesis?" Ashton asks, rhetorically. As Luke's way of answering, he could sense something Ashton had been wanting, waiting for the picture to come into his mind, and then seconds later a Coke from inside the fridge was the in air, moving towards Ashton and waiting for the boy to grab it. With a small whisper of astonishment, he took the drink out of the air (the fucking  _air!_ ) his eyebrows furrowing at first, before he finally let it all sink in. "Okay, Michael, you definitely should have told us about this sooner, because Luke probably just became the coolest person I know."

Everything seemed so happy. Luke was so close to letting his guard back down, something he wasn't going to do after what was experienced today. This felt like it could have been too good to be true, but Luke didn't want to believe that. He wanted to believe that things might be okay again, and that maybe he could actually become Calum and Ashton's  _friend_. As weird as it felt for the alien to think, he really wanted to have friends again. And, he thought that things were going to work out.

At least, until a voice began to echo throughout his mind, a voice he immediately recognized and made his body flinch, "Next time we get to you, Special One, there isn't going to be a happy ending."

And, next time was a lot sooner than he was hoping for.

 


	10. your the reason, the only reason

A few hours later, as Luke and Michael were laying on the couch, they had tried to put what happened out of their minds. Luke especially, not wanting to ever remember the words he heard inside of his mind, and wanting to focus on all of the better things that have came to pass in the past few days. Like Luke, Michael didn't want to remember the feeling he felt when discovering what had happened, and honestly, he hopes that it will never have to be felt again, nor will Luke be getting hurt anymore because Michael isn't sure if either of them could take another time of going through this.

Michael felt something pressing against his back uncomfortably, but with Luke basically laying atop, there wasn't much he could do about it. He wiggles around for a second, until both of the boys jumped when the tv turned on. Of course, someone had left the remote laying in the couch, and it had to interrupt the peaceful quiet that was being shared. He wanted to groan, but before he had the chance, he felt Luke push himself off of him and start walking to the tv, mesmerized by...well, all of it. There were people, but they were inside of the box! He didn't understand anything that was going on, since Michael just turned on the tv, but Luke did get excited when seeing the actor who played inside of the movie they went to see.

"Michael, alien from the movie inside the box!" Luke said excitedly, grabbing onto Michael hand, and sitting down in front of the tv with a happy look. Michael sat beside him, criss-cross-applesauce, and was quietly admiring the way Luke can get so excited over the things Michael finds normal. It was adorable.  _He_  was adorable. God, when did Michael become such a softie? What happened to him trying (and failing) at being 'punk rock?' If anything, Luke has made him feel like he finally has something really good in his life, something that maybe he could find himself loving.

Love is weird. It comes at times when you don't expect it, and sometimes you don't even realize it's there. It could be hiding inside your heart only for you to find it when the time is right. Michael doesn't think he's in love right now, but it might come soon. If everything bad gets figured out, and Luke can somehow learn all the things that is needed for him to continue living on Earth, then Michael can see him falling for his alien. But now is way too soon to think about this, so these thoughts can be pushed back until the time for them is right.

He sighed, and pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, before focusing back on the lovely alien. Luke was so busy trying to figure out how the people were on the screen that he hasn't even noticed when Michael mentioned his neck. Feelings Michael's fingers gently touch him, Luke jumped, causing Michael to flinch and pull his hand away. They were silent for a few seconds, until Michael said calmly, "Luke, you have marks all over you neck," he stopped, moving his hand back to rest on Luke's shoulder, like he could have been silently asking it it was okay to look over the marks.

Luke tilted his head to the side, giving Michael a better view of his neck. There were pink prints around his neck, and in some areas turning purple, like a bruise. His eyebrows furrowed, letting his hand run carefully over the places, wondering what could have caused this. He touched one the places that was starting to turn purple, and watched as Luke hissed, flinching at the new pain his started to feel. He seemed horrified, like he hadn't known his neck was going to bruise as his own blue fingers ran across the marks on his neck. His eyes were widened, and he looked to Michael in both fear in wonder.

He's never had his body bruise up before, which is why this is so strange to him; back home, whenever the bad people would hurt him, these marks were never left. Sometimes, Luke would end up sore, but he never felt anything like these before. He let Michael continue looking over them, until he heard the human inhale a sharp breath. Luke's expression was so curious, and Michael wanted to stay calm about this, but he shouldn't _have_  to stay calm. He shouldn't  _have_  to watch Luke get fucked with on the daily by...whatever is behind all this.

Michael wants to do something about this. He doesn't know when, nor does he know how, but he wants to fight.

He takes a deep breath, and decided not to tell Luke about the bruises in the shape of hands. That would only give him flashbacks of what happened, and Michael isn't going to be the one to make Luke relive the events that occurred. So, he will let this part keep to himself, because thinking about it anyway, it would probably be best if Luke doesn't know. That is, for both the finger prints and Michael's plan for fighting. The anger Michael feels towards Luke's bad people is overwhelming, and if he doesn't distract himself, he might billow a fuse.

So, he takes a deep breath to calm himself down, and wraps an arm around Luke. He has noticed something with Luke, from spending time with him and all; when Luke's body freezes and temperature drops, once he gets close to Michael, it's like he heats up again. Is it weird that this makes Michael feel good? He has also noticed that this only happens around him; when Luke would hang around Calum, or Ashton, his temperature would never change. This is something only reserved for Michael, and it makes the boy feel quite special. It's like they are soulmates, or something.

The thought of them being soulmates actually sounded quite nice. It seems too early for love, but Michael is certain that he likes Luke. And, he thinks Luke likes him as well, though he is never able to know what the alien actually understands about the human world. Would he even know what Michael meant by love? It probably wouldn't make any sense, which is why Michael doesn't want to get his hopes up for something like this, something that makes him feel like this is actually meant to be. Really, he shouldn't be wanting to spend his days with something like this, yet now it's all he wants; he wants to be with Luke.

He was so deep in thought that it almost didn't register Luke was trying to get his attention. He was gently pulling at the hem of Michael's shirt, waiting for the boy to look over so he could finally tell what he had been waiting to say. He stood up from his spot on the floor, and pulled Michael up with him, explaining to him, "Michael make eggos?" He asked with big puppy eyes, ones that melted Michael's heart swell. He's adorable, things like this is what makes Michael wonder how he was lucky enough to have Luke transported to him.

He still doesn't fully understand how he was chosen to protect Luke, or whatever. Out of the seven billion people on earth, Luke was sent to be with him; and damn, he is so grateful for that. Michael really likes getting to teach someone so much about such little things, and getting to show someone these common places to see the cutest reactions. He likes the feelings that flutter in his heart when Luke smiles, or when he laughs, or even when he could be in his own little world, Michael still adores him. He's never had these feelings for anyone else before, and it's kind of scary.

But shit, Michael has it bad.

He still wonders what Luke thinks about all this. Does he think about Michael in the same ways, or does he only think of him as a 'human experiment'? He can't guarantee either of those are what goes through the alien's mind, but it's most likely one or the other. Instead of dwindling on whatever his mind is trying to use to make himself feel bad, Michael decided to distract himself by making Luke his waffles (which is still has no idea why  _this_  is his favorite food, out of all meals, eggos?).

Michael started to walk to the kitchen, and he couldn't help but smile when he heard the shuffling of Luke from behind, and the sounds of his bare feet rushing across the floor to be as close to Michael as possible. It's adorable. He gently laced his fingers with Michael's, and swung their arms back and forth for the last few steps until they reached the kitchen. He sat down in one of the bar stools, and watched intently as Michael did whatever he does to make the eggos. Luke gets excited for the smallest things, its almost hear-warming.

Michael placed them in the toaster, then turned back to Luke with a smile. Any onlooker of the two could have swore they were in love, just by the way they looked at each other with so much joy. They were so cute it was almost disgusting. Luke no longer felt so worried about the bad people and how they were on the look out for him, but began to focus on everything about Michael; Michael's hair, Michael's eyes, Michael's smile, anything and everything that the human does. Luke might not understand the ways he feels, but he knows the way his heart bursts must be special.

"We have got to let you taste different foods," Michael began with a smile, "Seriously, Luke, this world has made so many foods that are much better than Eggo waffles. You haven't even had pizza yet! Good god, I can't believe I haven't had you try other things, that's so..." Michael paused, his words stopping briefly as he took a deep breath in. He tried to continue with what he was saying, but he was unable to get any farther along. Luke furrowed his eyebrows worriedly, his face scrunching in both confusion and fret.

He didn't do anything until Michael started to hold onto the counter top for support, his skin going completely pale and his eyes going wide. The only reason Luke knew what was happening is because how often this happens to himself; though, knowing the place he goes when passing out, this is also the reason he's so scared. Luke basically leaped out of the chair to get at Michael's side, not sure how he was supposed to react. He could tell Michael was scared, but that he was trying to hide it.

Before he could even tell it happened, Michael was out. All of his weight was now limp and falling on Luke, and the alien tried to lay him down gently, but his heart was beating out of his chest. The only thing Luke is able to think, other than if Michael will be okay, is that this is all his fault. It's his fault, because he didn't warn Michael enough times about the bad people, and now it seems like the bad people have now taken over. Shit, what if they treat Michael the same way Luke is treated; torturing his mind and body in ways that could almost be considered deadly. 

He couldn't bare to have Michael go through anything he has experienced, which is why he must get Michael out before the people can reach him. Though, he isn't exactly sure how to do it, because he always has to wait until his body wakes him up. He needs help from someone, which is why his mind is telling him to call for Ashton and Calum, since it seems they would know what to do much more than Luke would. Just a while ago they were doing this exact thing all over again, only it was Luke passed out on the couch instead of Michael on the floor, though all in all it's the same.

"Calum? Ashton?" Luke calls out, his voice wavering only slightly, but enough for them to think something is wrong. The two walking into the living room, and then into the kitchen where their eyes widened at the current state of Michael. Luke was trying to stay strong, for Michael's sake, but when seeing how scared the two people he was relying on just became, Luke felt frantic. "Calum and Ashton wake up Michael, fast! B-Bad people took Michael; Luke supposed to protect Michael... L-Luke  _failed_." He didn't notice how watery his eyes became until a tear ran down his cheek, quickly getting wiped away.

Thankfully, Ashton sprang right into action. Being the eldest and self-proclaimed 'most mature' of all the boys, he started with telling Calum to calm Luke down as he picked up Michael limp body and gently put him over his shoulder, leading him to the exact place Luke was laying moments before. Luke's head felt like it was spinning, he felt so guilty for bringing his own pain onto Michael without realizing it. He should have never came to Earth, he should have accepted the tortures on his planet and never have chosen to move himself and his baggage to the other planet. Because of this, he has proceeded to hurt the Earthling he loves more than anything.

Luke was sniffling, has he could tell Calum was saying something, but he wasn't able to register what it could be. All he could do was watch, and wait, and pray that they wouldn't hurt his Michael. With a broken tone, Luke said quietly, "Luke hurt Michael, bad people took Michael an-and Luke can't stop it," he paused, sniffling uncontrollably, "Ashton and Calum must leave Luke, or bad people hurt them too!" 

Calum still isn't able to understand Luke being an alien, let alone who the fuck these bad people are, how Michael fainting is them taking over him, why he and Ashton must now leave Luke alone, and what Luke meant by protecting Michael from them? This is all really strange to think about, but Calum guessing that this situation could be stranger...right? He was too busy in his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear Luke's hushed voice say, "Luke go back to his planet. Luke can't stay and cause friends pain."

His eyes widened, and even though he might not know the whole story, from what Michael has told him, Luke going back is a really bad idea. Is there anyway Luke can be talked out of this, at this point? He looks so upset over Michael that Calum isn't sure what he is supposed to do for him. Should he be this upset, is what happening inside Michael's head actually this bad? God, now  _he's_  worried about what Michael is going through. He watched ash Ashton started to walk back over to the boys, his expression looking almost identical to Calum's as he noticed poor Luke.

Ashton tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Can you and Michael  _not_  pass out this often? I think we need to figure out what causes this so often..." at this point, Luke quit listening. The only thing on his mind was getting his Michael back before he must go, and hoping everything is okay.

If only he knew what was actually happening in Michael's head.

When Michael wakes up, he finds himself surrounded in darkness. He was laying in what felt like water, but his body felt completely dry. Everything was silent, other than the sound of water running, except he couldn't see where it was coming from. He slowly started to sit up, his eyes straining to see if anything was actually out there, wanting to know if he was completely alone inside of the black abyss. He stood up, his ankles still underneath the wet substances, as he looked around. He was going to call out, but he throat felt dry, leaving Michael surround with his thoughts to keep him company.

It was this point when he realized where he was, everything now beginning to make sense;  _this_  was the place Luke kept describing, the place his mind would take him when the bad people tried to get him back. This place is where Luke would continuously get taken to be tortured in ways Michael isn't even sure of. But, strangely, Michael didn't feel worried about being here. If anything, he felt  _calm._ The thought inside his head now is that if Michael is here, the bad people can no longer hurt Luke. In a way, it's like he was protecting the alien, in the same ways Luke has been trying to protect him.

So, Michael was ready to take the pain about to be bared upon himself. He has been hurt before, though this is probably nothing compared to the things he went through when he was younger. But, as long as he keeps telling himself it's for protecting Luke, he can withstand it. It's not like they would kill him...right? Maybe, they won't even hurt him, and are really only here to talk? It's quite unlikely for him to think, but Michael hopes this is all that could be happening.

The quietness of this strange place was beginning to make Michael worried. He wanted to leave, before things get worse, but he doesn't even know how he got here! He had let his mind go blank for a second, when he heard something call out. Michael's head shot up, eyes widening and heart pounding in his chest. This is it, he's about to feel a pain worse than anything he's felt before, and there is nothing he can do to stop it. The sound calls out another time, and Michael owners if he should go to it, or wait and see if the voice would come to him instead.

He chose the latter, not trusting his body to walk anywhere at the moment, and waited to see what will happen next. He closed his eyes, his head moving back to face the darkness that should be the ground, and focused on staying calm. Thirty seconds passed, at the most, before Michael reopened his eyes. When looking up, someone...some _thing_  was standing in front of him, watching him with a calm expression. He let out a scared yelp, stumbling back and trying to get away from the new alien that appeared in front of him. 

The weirdest thing about this alien is that it doesn't look very harmful. Michael noticed it's a woman, with white hair a blue eyes that contrasted beautifully against her blue skin. If she was what Luke calls the ' _bad people_ ,' then she has a very kind looking facial expression for someone so evil. The woman reached out a hand for Michael to grab, and when Michael stared at it nervously, she told him in a very soft, lovely voice, "Michael, I am not here to hurt you, I will explain everything in a tick."

Though he isn't sure about trusting this alien yet, knowing she wasn't here to harm him definitely makes him less worried. Slowly, he reached out his hand to grasp her own, and stood back up from where he had fallen. Michael stared at this person, his eyes scanning her to see if she could be hiding something, or if she is an actual trust-worthy source. He wanted to ask her some questions, but the first thing that fell out of his mouth before he could stop it was, "...Did you say 'in a  _tick_?'" 

He watched the female Uranian start to laugh lightly, "A tick is considered a second on your planet," she paused, and Michael could tell by the facial expression change that she needed to tell him something important, and that thought began to rattle his bones. She continued, "My name is Allura, and I am the ruler of Uranus. We have taken you here since this is the only portal between Earth and our planet that a human is safe to pass through...but, after hearing your thoughts from earlier, I think Luke has told you about this place before."

Michael opened his mouth to reply, but then he let what she said sink in. Allura, the queen of Luke's planet, is needing to speak with him. This is quite neat but also terrifying at the same time. Is she here to scold him for having feelings for Luke the way he does, here to say Luke is being forced to go back home against his will for the benefits of herself? If she is here to take Luke away, Michael might have to make an interjection, because Luke can't leave him at this point; he has grown too attached.

Before Michael had a chance to speak, Allura started talking again, her voice echoing through the dark area, "The reason I came to speak to you, Michael, is to tell you that your planet is in trouble. The people Luke has been telling you about, they have came to Earth to find Luke--and, while Luke was alone, they found him," Michael's eyes widened at what she was saying.

He didn't mean to interrupt, but Michael says, "What do you mean that your planet is in trouble? Is it in trouble because Luke is gone, or was it already like this?" He was rambling out question after question, finally stopping himself when realizing he needed to shut up. He had already known that the people were inside of his house, though he doesn't know what all exactly went on there. But, really, he doesn't want to know what happened, or know all the ways they caused Luke pain. It breaks his hurt to know his love was being hurt and there is nothing he could do about it.

Though, part of him knows he should see what those people are capable to see what they could be up against. If this could become something dangerous, they need to be prepared. He looked up to Allura, and it was almost like she could read his mind (at this point, Michael wouldn't have been shocked his she actually  _can_ ). He face went expressionless, and she motioned for the boy to come closer. Hesitantly, Michael did what she was wanting him to do, and started to step closer. When he was in front of the girl, she placed two fingers on his forehead, and instantly Michael was transported somewhere else.

He was back in the apartment, but no one was in the living room. Then, he heard a noise from the kitchen, the sound of the floor creaking. Michael followed the sound, and saw Luke looking purely terrified of something. He reached out to touch the boy, but his hand went right through the other's shoulder. Shit, Michael can't do anything here, it's like this is all a hologram for him to watch. Michael is taken out of his train of thought when he noticed what's at the entrance of the room, his heart stopped when seeing this scariest fucking creature he has ever seen.

It was speaking to Luke, in a voice that is probably the scariest thing Michael has ever heard. The monster was taunting him, and when Michael noticed Luke try backing away, the creature slid Luke closer, and Michael's heart ached when he watched how scared and how upset Luke looked. He could see the glossy eyes Luke had, and if Michael could he would have given the boy a big hug, right after kicking this monster's ass for making his Luke feel this way. Michael took a step closer, and began to pay closer attention to the scene that was playing for him.

Michael heard the bad person started to talk about himself, and it made his skin boil, _'But, since he decided to leave you here alone today, I guess you get to have all the fun.'_ With ever word it said, Luke looked more and more scared, which made Michael more and more angry. Nothing should make Luke feel this way, and if Michael was able to do anything right now, he would definitely take care of the creature standing in  _his_  house. He noticed the two beings went silent, and the only thing that could be heard was Luke's little gulps of air.

Then, before he could have comprehended what happened, Luke was slammed against the wall. Michael was about to run over and do something, but he noticed everything around him started to fade to black, until he was back in the darkness with Queen Allura standing in front of him, with a sad look on her face. Michael's breathing was heavy, and he felt fucking livid knowing that something like that was hurting Luke, and no one was there to stop it. He felt like he needed to see what else went down earlier, because he was left at a cliffhanger and needed to know what else those assholes did to Luke.

Allura's calm peaceful voice was the next thing he heard, "I could feel your anger, Michael, it is best you do not see the rest of what happened. It would be best for Luke to explain it when you get back, instead of having to witness it. Though, when checking in on you and our Lurtxlyn, we have noticed that you wonder why he was sent to you at times. Michael, it is because you were  _chosen_." 

"Chosen? What am I chosen to do?" Michael asks, his eyebrows furrowed as he wore a confused look on his face. 

"You were chosen to take care of one of the strongest beings in the universe, Michael," Michael's eyes widened as she continued, "The demogorgens--or, as Luke refers to it, the bad people--are trying to use Luke as a weapon to take over our planet back home. They were doing tests on him and torturing him into submission, so we had to send him to be somewhere safe, which is why we chose you. Luke is powerful, much more powerful than he could ever know, and we needed to find someone who could handle protecting him, and teach him ways of life that he had never gotten to experience."

"We searched throughout galaxies far and wide to find someone, though not many other planets out there have real life sources that would have worked in the way we needed, and we were close to giving up. That was, until we found you. We studied you, and found you had every quality we were looking for, and then some; you were our perfect candidate. We sent Luke to you when thing got to their worse point, and now we have noticed the way you and Luke work together is different than what we were expecting him to receive. We had only needed you to show him protection, but you have introduced something much greater."

Michael gulped, "What did I do differently?" he asked quietly, voice wavering as he tried to let all this information sink in.

Allura smiled, "You showed him _love_. You have given him the feeling of being in love, and he is learning in ways we could have never taught him. It's beautiful, Michael. We sent him to receive protection, but he has learned how to protect other along with himself. Our plans have changed drastically, and we needed to explain what must happen now for you to prepare Luke." Her tone changed from happy to more stern, and Michael nodded along with what she was saying.

He let everything she said sink in for a while. He was chosen to keep Luke safe from creatures that were hurting him, but after a while, has shown him what it feels like to be in love. Shit, Michael is in love with Luke, yet he hadn't wanted to realize it until now. A smile creeped onto his face when thinking about it; he is in love for the first time, and it might be very strange, but it feels so nice. He looked back to Allura, and urged her to finished telling him what they had planned for Luke to do.

"Instead of him hiding, Luke is going to fight. It will be hard for him to do, but he now realizes he has something to protect that more important to him than himself, and that is you, Michael. After Luke wins the fight, he will be left with a choice; he can return home, to our planet-"

"What's the other choice?" Michael asks, interrupting Allura from her sentence.

"The other choice is, he will get to become human, and spend the rest of his life living in the human-world."

The conversation didn't last much longer than this, because Michael began to think more and more about this plan. If it works, Luke could choose to be human, but what if it goes wrong? Could the demogorgon kill Luke, and would Michael lose him? Or, what if Luke decided to return back to his planet, and leave Michael? He wants to believe Luke would choose to stay with him, but Michael is worried his choice might be different. Though, he will never know for sure until it happens, it's still a new worry that will be in the back of Michael's mind. He was so worked up by this thoughts that he didn't hear the alien say her goodbye, but Michael could feel himself start to return to his body.

Michael woke up with a gasp, and immediately he could feel Luke jump into his arms, muttering about how scared he was over and over as he hugged Michael as tightly as possible. When he pulled away, Michael sat up from where he was laying. Before Ashton or Calum could ask any questions, or Luke could do anything cute (since he's so adorable) Michael was already saying what he needed to say.

"Guys, I have plan to take down the bad people, and I have a feeling it's going to work."

This fight is coming much sooner than expected, but Michael knows they are going to win.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this!!
> 
> check out my [tumblr](http://vibrantluke.tumblr.com) !!


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